


Empire's Twilight

by KaedeRavensdale



Series: Ascendant's Colosseum [2]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Assassination plot, Betrayal from within, Blood and Gore, Cults, Death and destruction all around, Eren Is a Little Shit, Eren and Levi get married in this one, Eren finally gets to use his Titan form, Flower meanings, Honeymoon, Levi and Eren go hunting, Levi and Eren go to the ocean, Levi reluctantly falling in love, Levi's aim is terrible, Life in the castle, M/M, Mikasa and Levi begin to get along, Mikasa is reluctant to share her past, More Shifter lore is revealed yay, More tags might be added later - Freeform, Titan Shifter Levi, Warlord Levi, demiGod Levi, eren can sing and play piano, impending war, mild bloodplay, snowball fights
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-09
Updated: 2016-09-06
Packaged: 2018-04-08 10:45:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 20
Words: 77,861
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4301748
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KaedeRavensdale/pseuds/KaedeRavensdale
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Adherents of Leamai have long been exiled on the fringes of the kingdom but in recent years their influence has been growing, spelling trouble for the Shifter empire. Now that the Halgrind is over Levi is poised to carry out his plan to escape, but as time goes on and his interactions with Eren become more than just an act will he truly be able to turn his back on the Prince and return to the walls?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Champion

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone, i'm happy that i managed to finish the chapter by chapter plan out and get this out so soon as i don't want to leave you all with that cliff hanger for too long.  
> Ok so in this second installment of the three part series we're going to be learning a lot more of the mythology and history of the Shifters as Levi is put through his classes and we'll get a closer look at the individual clans and how they live. The first few chapters will be a little slow but bear with it because this is the one where the action really starts to pick up, as now we have to deal with the crazy Adherents.  
> Enjoy and, as usual, comments make the world spin so be sure to feedback me:3

                His wounded knee screamed as he leapt clear of his opponent’s strike, the Titan’s fist slamming into the trunk of the tree in front of which he’d been standing just moments before and snapping it in half like a twig. Blood was visibly leaking from the hinge over his right knee, dripping down the black crystal armor and running hot and wet down the skin of his leg. Grating his teeth against the white hot snarling pain and forcing himself back onto his feet despite the near inability of his wounded limb to support his weight he turned again towards his opponent only to be forced to dive free once again of an incoming charge.

                _This has already been going on for 10 minutes_ Levi thought as he picked himself up off of the ground yet again. _If I don’t end this soon, I won’t be able to keep moving out of the way._

                He couldn’t simply fire off his gear with abandon; only enough gas was left for one use and wasting so precious an advantage was not an option. He had to bide his time and wait for the perfect moment; for his opponent to over reach and put himself in a position where a clean finishing strike could be made. But the Titan in front of him just _wouldn’t_ cooperate no matter how he tried to direct it. _I don’t have much other choice._ It was an insane plan. Very much a dangerous plan. And the only plan that he had left.

                The enormous hand shot forwards again and this time he didn’t try to leap away, allowing the thick fingers to wrap around his body in a crushing grip. Once again the air was forced from his lungs, flesh bruising, bones creaking under the enormous pressure. He struggled to move, just the slightest twitch of his wrist to bring his blades into the correct position.

                Steam exploded outwards and fingers, severed from their bases, flew in all directions as the Titan let out an earthshaking shriek of pain; Levi’s body pirouetted lithely through the air, shedding ruby droplets of blood from his weapons in vibrant arches, hovering for a moment before beginning to fall.

                The gas canisters on his gear, filled with only fumes now, hissed uselessly but luckily the hooks still fired off, latching on to the trunk of the nearest tree and yanking him around to the back of the Titan’s neck.

                _One chance. Don’t fuck this up._ Just as the Titan began to turn towards him again Levi threw his body into a bladed spin, colliding with the weak point on the back of its neck and shearing through flesh and bone before the hooks were yanked out by his body weight and he was sent plummeting to the ground 15 meters below with a punishing impact which shattered his already wounded leg and left him entirely immobile. If he’d failed to cut deep enough, missed by even a few centimeters, it was all over. He was dead.

                A second earth shaking crash set his fears at ease as his opponent fell, his breath coming in short pained gasps as he dragged himself up onto his elbows to view the now screaming crowd.

                “Unbelievable!” The booming voice of the announcer once again rang through the arena. “There you have it ladies and gentleman, a history-making Halgrind and a _Human_ champion; crowd favorite Levi Ackerman!”

                He’d survived. He’d fought. He’d won. So what happened now?

                Footsteps running towards him from his left; Levi turning his head just in time to see Eren running towards him. “Who the hell lit your pants on fire, brat?” he demanded. Eren’s only answer was to drop down onto both knees, swiftly correct himself onto one, and shove a silver ring into his face. “What the-?”

                “You will marry me now!” He stated, tone demanding and without a sliver of doubt to be had. An order, not a request.

                ‘You want me to marry you’ he’d said ‘then I want a proposal’.

                “This isn’t how you properly go about making a proposal, brat.” Levi drawled as the brunet forced the ring onto his finger. “Not that it really matters anyway; I was only screwing with you when I said I wanted one.”

                “Maybe I’m screwing with you now.” The little shit retorted with a smirk, getting back onto his feet with grass stains now imprinted on his knees. “Can you stand?”

                “Can I stand?” he spluttered back. “What do you fucking think, my leg is broken!” Eren reached down and carefully helped him up, the raven only somewhat reluctant to allow him to do so. “What happens to me now?”

                “You’ll receive the necessary treatment for your injuries, be given time to heal, and will be put up in the castle.” He replied. “Don’t get too excited though, you won’t be sharing a bed with me quite yet.”

                “Tch!”

                “You’ll begin your studies soon; a tutor will be appointed to give you the teachings you need to become a functioning member of our society.” They were outside of the arena now, walking passed the building where he’d been forced to stay since he’d arrived in that country to a carriage which stood waiting for them at the curb. A guard opened the door for the Prince to hop inside and once safely off the streets Eren turned to help him up as well. “Welcome to the Royal treatment.”

                The interior of the carriage was clean, much to his satisfaction, and patterned in gold with red velvet seats. Eren nestled himself on one side, watching him with the satisfied expression of the cat who had just caught the canary at long last, yellow feathers protruding from his mouth and all, as Levi sat down across from him.

                “I’m sure that your room will be to your liking; I prepared it personally for you.” The brat purred, leaning forward towards him and carefully placing his hand on the raven’s uninjured knee. “The entire wing is empty aside from you so you’ll have your privacy, which I knew you’d appreciate. The wardrobe is fully stocked with clothing sized to fit you and-as I noticed your penchant for cleanliness-the room will be cleaned daily from floor to ceiling. Servants, of course, will be at your beckon call at all hours to attend to your every need and, in case you want reading material, the royal library is located just down the hall.”

                “Why are you bothering to give me the run down when I’ll be spending at least a week in the medical ward, brat?” Levi winced as the carriage went over a bump in the road, jostling his wounded leg.

                “Medical ward? Not this time; you’ll heal in your room. It’s better that way.” Eren replied. “More comfort and privacy, I’m sure you understand.”

                “Uh huh.”

                “I’ll be in to see you a number of times daily, of course.” He continued. “To bring you food and to just spend time with you; feel free to ask me to leave at any time if you feel you want to sleep.”

                Levi couldn’t help but look at the other almost incredulously. “Why would you bother to do anything yourself when, like you said, I’ll have servants attending to me?”

                The brunet scoffed and rolled his eyes. “I know nothing of Human royalty and how they do things, but my people are not so cold as to deal everything in regards to their partners for the help to deal with!” He informed him, an almost sharp edge to his voice. “You are to be my husband, no one can contend it now that you have won the Halgrind and are on the road to Ascention, and as such I’ve an obligation to tend to your health as, I hope, you will do for mine should I ever be injured in the future.”

                “There’s no need to sound so offended you little shit. It’s not like I was questioning your competence in matters.” The carriage rolled to a stop at last outside of the palace and the door opened again. Once more Eren leapt down ahead of him and then turned back to help him down; in too much pain to heed his pride and attempt a futile struggled to walk on his own Levi allowed himself to lean against his companion as they made the trek up the front stairs again breathing in that citrus scent and feeling the silken warmth which brought back strong memories of the night before and a myriad of sensations he had to make a conscious effort to shake off.

                “I’ll leave you here, Levi, unless you’d like me to assist you into bed as well?” Eren’s molten green gaze searched his face as the pair arrived at the door to what would be his room.

                “I think I can manage it from this point, shitty brat.” He replied after a moment, propping his weight against the stone wall of the castle hallway as the brunet opened the door for him.

                “Very well, I’ll leave you be then. Lunch is in a few hours; I’ll bring you up some food one it’s ready. Someone should be in to tend to your injury soon as well.” Eren said as Levi did his best to hobble passed him. “You’ll find a primer on the desk; start reading it as soon as you feel up to it so that you can begin to learn our traditional language.” With that said the Prince closed the door behind him and walked off.

                Forget even mentioning the glorified closet he’d been put up in during his time competing in the colosseum, the room now known by the title of his bedroom was at least three times the size of his officer’s quarters back at the walls. The floors were darkly stained wood, the walls painted a rich royal blue; in the center of the room was an enormous four poster bed dressed in fine silk sheets and a satin overthrow of blue and gold. A wardrobe, hand crafted from the same wood of the floors stood against the wall flanking the door he’d entered through and a desk, also matching the other wooden fixtures, had been posted in front of the Eastward facing wall which had been crafted entirely from windows and revealed a breathtaking view of the capital city below.

                _My entire squad could live in this room and it would STILL be too damn big!_ Levi thought as he limped across the room to free the thick satin curtains from the ropes that held them at bay, throwing the room into darkness. Shucking off his armor and dirtied clothes and tossing them into a corner to be dealt with later, Levi crawled into bed and did his best to make himself as comfortable as possible. He’d try to get some sleep until someone arrived to tend to his wounds.


	2. A Royal Dinner

A number of days had passed since the last battle of the Halgrind had concluded and Levi had all but been chained to the enormous-and ridiculously comfortable, what the _hell_ was that mattress made out of?-bed in his unnecessarily large room for the better part of that time, forced to resort to reading the language primer to alleviate some of his resulting boredom. Though formal schooling was not something which was in his past, a childhood in the underground had shaped him into a swift learner, and being already fluent in two other languages picking up a third was not too difficult to do and he’d even gotten the brat, his only company aside from the servants who were too terrified of offending him to speak, had agreed almost immediately to teach him every swear word and offensive phrase that he knew effectively doubling his material in the matter of a few days.

                He’d also realized the true extent of how damn physical the little shit really was; there was almost never an instant when the brunet wasn’t somehow touching him-either stroking his hair or playing with his fingers or forcing the raven to sit in his lap-and Levi all but had to beat him off with a ten foot pole to get him to release him. He still couldn’t walk on his own but the wound had healed enough that he could stand upright with minimal pain and now Levi found himself limping down the palace halls on a pair of golden crutches to attend his first dinner with the ‘family’.

                One would think that after all the time he’d spent with the Shifters as a people and given the room in which he’d been put up to sleep Levi would be used to excessive opulence by now but that didn’t stop his jaw from almost hitting the floor when he finally made it into the dining hall. The floors were tiled in the same golden beige marble as the throne room had been, the walls painted in the same dark hues and hung with the same banners depicting what he now realized to be a family crest. Along one wall were twelve beveled windows framed in white silk curtains allowing in just enough light from the falling evening outside to illuminate the room in a calm glow and guards stood posted at even intervals along all four walls. The table was long and well-crafted from polished, dark stained wood keeping in pattern with the rest of the palace. Around its close to six feet of length were a number of chairs-all hand forged from gold and silver, embossed with delicate ornate crafting and encrusted with emeralds and diamonds-situated around it, three of which were occupied by the Prince King and Queen while the fourth stood empty waiting for him.

                “Just in time, Levi.” Eren smiled at him, perfect teeth flashing bright white. Tonight he was dressed in a red shirt which clashed wonderfully with his sapphire-and-emerald eyes and a pair of black pants. For his part the raven was in a rich violet button up and, like Eren, black pants both of which fit as well as his uniform had and were made of a much finer material; the brat wasn’t joking when he’d said his entire wardrobe had been specially fitted. “Are you able to walk alright with those crutches, darling? Feeling any pain?”

                “Nothing compared to what it was just a few days ago, and the furthest thing even then from the most painful experience I’ve been through in my life.” He replied honestly, making his way around the table to the unoccupied chair and lowering himself rather awkwardly into the seat.

                “Your recovery is going well?”

                “Yeah, brat. I’ll be fine; your medicants say that I won’t need to use these damn crutches for longer than a month or two.”

                “That’s good to hear,” again with the purring quality to his voice. “Once you’re healed the courting can finally begin; by the time we marry you’ll be in love with me.”

                “I’m not exactly a social guru or any of that shit, but I’m pretty sure that ‘love’ takes two.”

                Eren chuckled. “Of course, but it won’t take me all the way until our wedding night to fall for you.”

                So he was on the right track, then? Had a hold on the brat already? “Just when will we be getting married?”

                “That’s one of the things that my parents wanted to speak with you about.” He replied. “But the food will be out at any moment; we’ll speak once the servants have returned to the kitchen.”

                As if summoned, the doors to what must have been the kitchens opened and a number of servants spilled out carrying covered dishes and pitchers full of wine which they sat wordlessly on the table and unveiled before promptly filing out of the room. Meat was beyond a rarity in the walls, so impossibly expensive that even for officers like him it was only ever had in small near tasteless portions once on a blue moon. Though he’d been allotted high quality-at least compared to the walls-food consisting of fresh bread vegetables and fish but what he saw placed in front of him now was, to say the least, a pleasant if severe surprise. He was rather sure that his eyes had popped out of his head and rolled away across the floor, and if the barely held back laughter bubbling up from Eren was anything to go by his expression was priceless.

                “You act like you’ve never seen food before.”

                The two pitchers which had been set out were filled with chilled dark red sweet wine, small scintillating bubbles of carbonation rising through the richly hued liquid to burst at the surface in a mesmerizing display. None of the watered down crap from back home, pale in color and with a taste closer to vinegar. And if anything the actually course itself was even more surprising. For one thing, sitting in the middle of the table was an entire pig, a dark red apple stuffed into its crinkled snout and its hot skin crispy, golden brown and leaking savory juices as it sat atop a bed of lettuce. Side dishes included a basket full of steaming white rolls, a salad crafted of dark green spinach and a bowl of cheesy soup. Levi had always prided himself on having a comeback, no matter what; who would have thought that dinner would have been the thing to finally render him speechless.

                “Here,” Eren leaned across the table and forced a gigantic serrated knife into his hands. “You should cut it; from your expression I’d hazard a guess that this is your first time.”

                “You could say that, brat.” Levi replied, getting a better grip on what was honestly better described as a sword.  How did he even begin to carve this thing?

                “Do your people not eat meat, Levi?” this question came from the King rather than his eternally curious son; the raven, having somehow managed to forget that there were two other people in the room with them, jumped slightly before answering.

                “It’s not so much a matter of us not eating meat as it is a matter of us not having meat.” He replied somewhat delicately, taking a great deal more care to be mindful of his words than he normally would. “There isn’t that much space inside of the walls to begin with; Humanity can barely afford for its own numbers, let alone raise anything close to a substantial number of livestock. Meat, especially had in such a manner and quantity as this, is a luxury affordable only by the King and, perhaps, a handful of his wealthiest nobles.”

                “But my son had regaled us many times with stories of your status as a great warlord to your people. How is it, then, that you could not afford to dine well every night?”

                “A warlord? I suppose that you could call me that.” He mused, attempting to begin carving the monstrous pig only to have a small measure of success which was entirely devoid of finesse and took a great deal more effort that reward it yielded and only seemed to add to the brunet’s already thriving amusement with the entire situation. “But Human society it quite different from yours. In your world, the warrior caste is the highest place possible on society’s ladder. But where I come from, those who choose a life of battle-choose to lay down their lives in an attempt to further Humanity-are the lowest of the low.”

                “That will change; you’ll find your talents properly valued in these lands.” Eren’s father informed him gruffly. “By the Gods boy, take more than that!” Levi, who had surrendered to his inability to affectively cut the huge beast in front of him after artlessly hacking off only a thin strip of meat and had been in the process of passing the knife to Eren, stopped cold and looked down at his plate somewhat helplessly. Not that he would ever admit that cutting a proper portion for himself was difficult for him, a man who could cut through the necks of countless Titans all but effortlessly.

                “Here, dear, let me help you.” The knife was taken from his grasp by Carla’s gentle hands and a few moments latter Eren’s mother had filled his plate with what was, apparently, a proper portion.

                All that the former Corporal could think was _that’s A LOT of meat_ as he managed to force out a thank you through his relative surprise.

                “Not used to having people help you, are you Levi?” it was Eren talking to him again, that damned grin back on his face. “Humans may force their fellows to fend for themselves, but it’s not the same here. Allow yourself to lean on others, because there will come a time where they will lean on you.”

                “You’re quite philosophical for a little brat, aren’t you?”

                The brunet shrugged, picking up a steaming roll and cracking it open before delicately shoving a small piece into his mouth. “I know that you must miss it; the people that you left behind, at the very least.” He said slowly. “You can’t go back, you’ll never see them again, and I’m sorry for that. But the sooner you accept this as your new life the sooner you’ll be happy.”

                Silver eyes shifted to the far wall, sadness shadowing their luster as he absently brought another forkful if the tender, buttery meat to his lips. “You say that like it’s easy to do.”

                “It isn’t. I understand that, even if I can’t relate to it, but it _is_ better here. You’ll make new friends. You’ll have a new family; you’ll always have me.” A warm calloused hand brushed against the top of his own and it took all of his willpower not to withdraw immediately. “You’ll have power beyond your imagining as King, and you’ll have shelter, and you’ll always have food. You’ll live forever; never grow old. And most importantly you’ll never have to wake and look out of your window to see a wall in the distance. I can give you _freedom_! Is that not enough?”

                Eren actually looked desperate now, his green eyes beseeching. Begging him to look at him and say that he wouldn’t leave. To promise that he’d never think back to those he’d left behind again and to wipe the walls from his mind forever as if they had never existed.

                “Give me time, Eren.”

                “Of course,” he looked somewhat deflated, slinking back across the table to his seat and braking contact with the raven’s hand. “Time; take all that you wish. For you, I can wait.”

                A feeling of discomfort settled over him and he forced himself to take a sip of wine, if only to use the glass to block his expression as a battery of new thoughts flashed at lightning speed across his mind’s eye. He’d thought that Eren was pursuing him as an object of sorts. A prize. A jewel to show off. But this reaction-sulking, pouting, at even the slightest rejection-warned him that, even if it wasn’t love per-say, the brat might be more attached to him than he had originally accounted for. If he were to go through with this plan, what would the boy do? How would he react? Would he chase him? Threaten the walls? Attack Humanity in an effort to drag him back? This Prince, this spoiled rotten brat who could turn into a hyper-intelligent Titan at will; how much devastation could he cause?

                If he did pursue him Levi would have no choice but to put him down. To cut down his Titan and kill him in the process, potentially starting a war with the Shifters which was the _last_ thing Humanity needed at the moment but he wasn’t about to just sit there forever. For some reason that he chose to ignore the thought of Eren lying dead in the grass-his smooth tan skin smeared in his own deep scarlet blood and his eyes drained of color-caused something deep inside of him to twist painfully.

                “Now that all of us have settled down to eat, shall we talk about your circumstances Levi?” it was obvious that the answer to the King’s question was not _allowed_ to be no.

                “Of course,” he replied smoothly. “I’ll admit I’m curious as to exactly what’s going to become of me.”

                “You’ve healed to the point where you’re no longer trapped in your room. As such, you’ll begin your lessons tomorrow at the Temple.” Levi just nodded again in silent understanding. “Your wedding to my son will be in three years; four months prior to that you’ll Ascend to truly join our ranks provided that all goes as it should. If not, the dates may be pushed back a bit.”

                “I’ll make sure that he studies,” Eren promised, the grin once more in place; the kid bounced back like elastic. “He’s already picked up the basics of our language and showed a great deal of interest in our culture when I took him to visit Araon’s Temple; he couldn’t stop staring at the idols.”

                “That’s all well and good, Eren, but being behind on his studies is not the only thing which could cause delays.” The tone of his voice was now one of a long suffering parent explaining something to his son for what must have been the millionth time; having dealt with cadets for a good number of years, Levi could relate. “There are forces outside of this castle, outside of this city, that may dictate change to the times of both ceremonies. Forces that are fully capable of threatening our Kingdom and our way of life. You’re not naïve, I know that you’re aware of them, but it’s time that you stopped living under the blissful illusion that they’ll remain in their swamp forever.”

                Eren opened his mouth to respond as Levi looked on in confusion, but Carla swiftly put an end to their conversation before it could really start. “Grisha, darling, I hardly think that that mad cult is a topic for the dinner table.”

                The King looked at his wife and sighed, shaking his head. “You’re right, Carla. Eren, we’ll speak more of this later.”

                “Yes, Father.” The brunet replied with a grumble before returning his gaze to Levi. “If you’re finished, shall we head back to your room? Or would you rather visit one of the other rooms in the castle? I mean, if you weren’t planning to turn in.”

                Looking at the brat’s hopeful expression Levi couldn’t help but want to indulge him, even if just a little bit. “It’s a bit too early to be turning in just yet, especially considering that sleeping has taken up most of my time these past few days.” Even if he did feel about ready to slip into a food induced coma. _I need to get back to being active as soon as possible. Otherwise, eating like this every night, I’ll blow up like a balloon!_

                Eren was out of his seat and around the table in a matter of a few seconds, those warm calloused hands helping him upright and handing him his crutches without having to be asked. Not that Levi would ever bow himself so low as to actually _ask_ for the brat’s help. Once they were out in the hallway again the brunet wasted no time in wrapping his arms around his shoulders and burying his face in his hair.

                “Brat, I can’t walk like this in crutches.” But he didn’t try to shake him off; Levi knew by now that an attempt to do so would only make the brat clutch on harder not to mention that, despite him being a Titan shit and however much the constant touching might have grated on his nerves, there was something about the Prince’s furnace-like warmth which was inexplicably comfortable. “Eren!”

                “Alright, alright!” He chuckled, withdrawing enough to allow for effective use of the crutches propped beneath the raven’s arms. “Did you enjoy dinner?”

                Aside from it being fairly awkward being pinned beneath the gaze of his parents for the first time as the brat’s ‘betrothed’ he’d have to admit that he did. “The food was delicious; your servants certainly do a good job.”

                “That they do.” Eren agreed. “I’m glad that you enjoyed it. My parents certainly like you.”

                “Really? I couldn’t tell.” Honestly they’d seemed rather indifferent on the matter.

                “I know, it’s sort of hard to know sometimes. But trust me when I say that they approve of you.” He said happily. “It’s a good sign; you’re one of the family already.”

                Levi grunted in reply. “So where did you say that this library was again?”

                “Right this way; not far.” Eren happily trotted along in front of him, pushing open the doors to the library and unveiling an invariable forest of shelves stuffed floor to ceiling with books. Though by no means a book worm, Levi enjoyed the occasional good read and so the sight of hundreds of thousands of books was both astounding-only so many pieces of literature were allowed to be circulated to the public by the idiot they called a King-and somewhat thrilling. At least it meant he wouldn’t be getting bored any time soon.

                The cavernous library was cool, the dry air scented with dust and ink and parchment. Eren lead him across the plush carpet to a wooden table and sat down. “What are you planning to read?”

                “I was planning to figure that out when I find something that looks interesting.” That was _if_ anything was in English, because at the moment all he could confidently do in the Shifter’s tongue was ask directions and thoroughly cuss someone out. “Didn’t your Father want to speak with you?”

                “Shit.” He seemed to sink down a little bit in his chair. “I’m going to get another lecture about how they’re a ‘threat to our Kingdom’; as if I don’t already know that! Apparently, I just have more faith in our soldiers that my parents do.”

                “Who, exactly, are ‘they’?” he’d been lost during the conversation at dinner and would appreciate at least the answer to that question.

                “’They’ are the Adherents. You’ll learn about them eventually; I suppose you could say that they’re dangerous-they’ve proven themselves capable of death and destruction some years ago-but in the greater scheme of things they’re little more than a thorn in the Empire’s side.” He told him with a yawn, getting to his feet again and stretching. “We haven’t been able to completely wipe them out, what with the cowards squatting in the damned Lost Lands, but now that you’re here that will all change.”

                “So you plan to sick me on this crazed cult of yours?” he snorted somewhat indignantly. “What am I, an attack dog?”

                “When you’ve learned what they are, what they want, and what they’ve done you’ll be chomping at the bit to get a piece of them.” There was that darkness again, flitting momentarily across his features before vanishing just as quickly; he leaned down and pressed a quick kiss to his cheek and muttered a quick good night before exiting the room.

                Levi remained sitting there completely still until the brat’s footsteps faded down the hallway into silence and even a few moments after that, but once sure that he had gone he leapt to his feet-as much as someone on crutches could-and hurried through the room, weaving in and out of the shelves and desperately searching for what he was looking for. It took him almost 20 minutes to find what he was searching for, mercifully located on the bottom most shelf; a book full of maps.

 _This should work for my purposes, provided that it extends beyond their kingdom._ He though, opening the book and thumbing through the pages. _I need to know how far away the walls are and in what direction._ But he hardly had the time to study them in any gravity that night. Once assuring himself that the book in his hands did indeed hold the information he was searching for, Levi tucked the book into his waist band and hobbled quickly back through the halls to his room. Shutting the door immediately in his wake and dropping the crutches to the ground at the soonest possible occasion he crawled into bed and squirreled the book he’d filched off the shelves away beneath his mattress. A part of him was aware that he was acting like a child but given the circumstances Levi couldn’t bring himself to care. His plans to escape were, and always would be, of the utmost importance and he could not afford to lose that precious text.


	3. Nemisis

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok I'm really really sorry it's been forever since I updated but fanfiction kinda peetered out for me a bit and i lost my plan so i lost steam but I've got it back now so I'm going to finish this. Be aware that college is starting soon so I may only be able to update sporadically but it's not abandoned.  
> Thank you for all of the support and encouragement and as always reviews are loved and appreciated.

                Levi never would have thought he’d ever consciously admit to anyone that he wished his Titan Brat was with him yet as Mikasa practically manhandled him down from the carriage, propping him against it as she pulled down his crutches that was exactly what he was doing. Adjusting his crutches into a comfortable position once they’d been handed to him and rubbing his wrist where her gauntlets had nearly broken the skin he grumbled to himself and frowned.

                “Armin is awaiting you inside the Temple of Araon. The carriage will return once your lessons are at end to take you back to the castle.” Her tone was polite but clopped. Businesslike. Regardless of his current status and her obligation to be cordial towards him, at least to his face, it was still more than evident that Eren’s guard did not approve of him. Didn’t trust him. Levi had to give her credit: Titan or not, she wasn’t stupid. “Do not forget that, even in your leisure time, you are expected to train and study.”

                “I’m aware.” He growled, ignoring her bitter stare. “I’m thirty fucking five and held the rank of Lance Corporal back at the walls. I don’t need to be reminded to do my god damn homework like a fucking child! Don’t you have anything better to be doing? Like breathing down that shitty brat’s neck instead of mine?” Mikasa scowled at him but climbed back into the carriage. Moments later it had pulled away, leaving him alone on the cliff top.

                Sculpted feet of his crutches clicking against the stone ground Levi turned to face the place which, to him, would serve as a house of knowledge. In the light of the late afternoon sun the Temple of the War God as well as the surrounding slightly smaller temples were even more striking than they had been at night, and the statues out front of them blazed as if on fire. Gingerly, cautiously, he made his way up the stairs and towards the doors. After a few minutes more deciding how best to go about opening them without dumping himself onto his face he managed to manipulate the crutches in surch a way for it to become possible to allow himself inside.

                Despite the bright sunlight outside the temples interior was dim. Lit only by a few ornate stained windows and copious amounts of candles the glow of which struggled to pierce the smoky air of the cavernous room. There, amidst the idols set before the stone altar, stood the Titan Prince Brat’s friend the Coconut Titan. The blonde looked just as he’d remembered him on the night of his first visit down to the robes that he was wearing and smiled at the sight of him.

                “Ah, Levi! There you are. Are you ready to begin your lessons?”

                “Ready or not I don’t exactly have a choice in matters coconut brat.” Despite the surly retort Armin didn’t flinch. He indicated a door which was barely discernable against the far wall.

                “Please, accompany me into the private room here. It will be a better place for you to study, as we won’t be disturbed should someone come to visit the temple within the next few hours.” He set off towards said door, purposely maintaining such a pace that even while crutch bound Levi found he didn’t have to struggle to keep up, and opened to allow them both inside. It was slightly better lit here by a single large window under which stood a midsized table. On this table had been assembled some blank sheets of parchment, a charcoal pencil and an ancient looking leather bound book. “You’ve been studying our language while recovering, I see. You speak it well, for someone who has only been at it a short time.”

                “Tch.” Balancing against the sturdy table Levi pulled out the nearest chair and sat down with far less grace than he would have liked. The golden crutches clunked against the wood.

                “Eren tells me that you’ve been reading quite a lot recently as well. I trust that that means you have a decent understanding of how to discern our alphabet as well, so I thought I might have you read along while I tell you a story today. A tale which is of great importance to one of today’s most major conflicts, regardless of whether you take it as a history or a myth.” He picked up the book and rapidly thumbed through it, passing it to Levi once he’d reached the correct page.

                He glanced at the title then up at his ‘tutor’ again. “The Fall of Leamai?” The story behind the picture window of the War God and the Dragon. _History my ass._

                “Yes. The story of the battle between the pantheon and the beast which would come to be the Adherent’s dark god. One of the deepest roots to the hatred between them and our clan. A well known tale to every shifter, regardless of whether you’re Acies or not. And one that you most definitely should know if you are going to be joining us.” Armin sat down across from him. “Thousands of years before the war broke out between my people and yours the War God led the charge against the Demon Beast Leamai. The great serpent was a parasite. A destroyer of worlds. An inducer of madness and imbuer of corruption. He would have destroyed out would had he not been stopped and so the pantheon rode out to battle together to end him. The Void Serpent was as wide as the trunk of an ancient tree and so long that his coils stretched from one end of the horizon to the other and even together the Gods faced a great struggle if they were to defeat him. His writhing body shook the earth beneath them and his rearing strikes stirred the skies to violent storms and the battle between them lasted almost two centuries.” Levi tried to contain himself but turned the page of the book with a bit too much force, nearly ripping it out. Just as he had on the last night of the Halgrind when he’d commented on not being religious, Armin ignored him. “No single member of the Pantheon could have defeated him alone and there by no single member of the Pantheon can fully be accredited with killing him, but it was Araon who struck the final blow and ended his menace. But even with his defeat the Gods’ job was not yet done. Wide spread destruction was left in the wake of the battle between them, the earth left barren and even a portion of the sky broken from the heavens fallen in shards to the ground. Araon sent his eagle up with each broken piece to seal up the hole which had been opened in the sky, then turned his attention to helping his brethren repair the damage to the earth below. Yra relit the stars and returned the sun and moon to their posts while her brother Eros wove new clouds and breathed new wind to replace those which the serpent had devoured. Fenrir propped up the fallen trees and crafted new animals while Uher raised mountain ranges and Reor uncovered the rivers and oceans which had been filled in during the fighting. But no matter how they tried to heal the land a scar remained where the body of the beast had fallen. Where Leamai’s poisonous blood had soaked into the soil plants would only grow black and twisted and the soil weeped caustic tainted water. In time the Pantheon were forced to accept that this was a wound on the world that couldn’t be closed and so they called it the Lost Lands; they remain today as a festering reminder of the near end to our world.”

                The old book flopped closed with a limp smacking sound. “The statues outside are the Pantheon, I assume? Each one set before their respective temple?”

                The little blonde nodded. “Yra, Goddess of Magic. Eros, God of Storms and the patron of the Ventus Clan. Reor, God of the Ocean and patron of the Alte Clan. Fenrir, God of the Hunt and patron of the Sylva Clan. Uher, God of the Earth and of the Forge and patron of the Equos Clan. And, of course, our patron Araon God of War and the Dawn.”

                “No clan for Yra? She always PMSing or something?” There were a million things he could be doing now which would better advance his plan of ultimately getting the hell away from the Shifters and their city of gold, yet here he was stuck sat on his ass listening to children’s stories. Needless to say he wasn’t happy. Armin’s expression briefly shifted into something rather grim but he didn’t verbally answer and, if anything, this only served to piss Levi off more. “Oi!”

                “You were able to read most of the words which were written, right? There weren’t too many you didn’t understand?”

                “I asked you a question coconut shithead!”

                Again Armin ignored him. “Please take that book with you as there are other well known stories in it that you may wish to read or that we may read in the future during another lesson. But it would appear we’re done for the time being. Please have a good night.”

                “I-!”

                “Ackerman.” Fuck it all. Not her again! Levi turned his head slightly to aim a glare over his shoulder at Mikasa who glared pointedly back at him from the doorway. “Whatever questions that you still have can be answered some other time. Armin is very busy, has other obligations here in this temple and it’s already gotten to be late.”

                He hadn’t noticed before then that darkness had fallen outside. It was now difficult to see inside that little room without squinting. _The less trouble you cause now the less you’ll have to worry about an unwanted babysitter when you least want one._ Levi gritted his teeth but backed down. “Of course. Plenty of time to ask him questions later. That’s the point of this isn’t it, for me to learn about the Shifters?” the look in her eyes was full of acid as he struggled to his feet with only his crutches to help him. Armin had already vacated the area and the ravenette didn’t bother to lift a finger in way of aiding him. Just watched with a smug smirk as he struggled upright. _Bitch._ Once finally appropriately vertical he began to follow her out. Mikasa made a point of repeatedly ‘accidentally’ almost closing the doors on him and again left him to his own devices when it came to getting back into-and out of once they reached the castle-the carriage.

                Levi was fully braced for an immediate Eren attack but was equal parts surprised and relieved when the brat didn’t materialize out of the ether for his hourly dose of forceful cuddling. “The Prince is otherwise obligated this evening, as are the King and Queen. Please proceed to your room immediately on getting inside. Dinner will be brought to you there tonight.” With that she tromped off around the exterior of the castle, presumably to see to something involving the guard. He’d learned the night before that, aside from being Eren’s 24/7 bodyguard she was also the captain of the guard.

                Finally alone and glad for it despite the hardship presented by getting inside he made his way quickly to his room. Patiently waited for his food to be delivered. Then without wasting a moment pulled out the smuggled book of maps.

                Before this he hadn’t had a good chance to thoroughly examine it for his purposes. Tonight would be different. Flipping it open Levi thumbed rapidly through the pages, ignoring the script which was as of yet in language too technical for him to read, until his eyes fell on the familiar curves and valleys. _Yes. This book is better than I thought._ Much better. It, alone, would be enough to lead him home as soon as he was able to read it. _I’ll need to double down on perfecting my skills in their language, even if that means being forced to listen to more fairy tales._

                His grey eyes fell on the book of maps in his hands again. A sudden wave of homesickness, powerful and utterly out of character, broke over him. Fingertips slid over long dried ink and soft aged parchment. Over the hills and creases of distant familiar places that he was still uncertain he’d ever see again. _I’m coming home._ Maria. Rose. Sina. His squad. Hanji and her ridiculous obsession with titans; she’d have a field day when he told her where he’d been. What he’d kissed and was now engaged to not that he had any intention of sticking around long enough for that to happen. And then there was Erwin. Now that the wounds left behind by their messy break up had had the time and distance needed to heal Levi could admit, at least to himself, that he missed the man. He’d never allow a romantic relationship between them again but his sure presence, even merely as a commanding officer and comrade, was something he could have used at the current time. A rock to hold onto to prevent himself from being swept away.

                It grew darker and darker outside of his window and then began to lighten slightly. The fire in the stone hearth burned down to nearly nothing. Levi barely had the presence of mind to shove the book back under his pillow before losing consciousness.

_A pall of unnatural darkness hung in the sky around him. The smoke from the burning buildings blotting out the moon and stars and stringing his eyes and throat as he ran. Ran through the destroyed streets. Leapt over collapsed and mangled human forms and dissolving scattered Titan bits. He didn’t know why he was running. Didn’t know to where. But his legs certainly seemed and carried him onwards through the ravaged city and carried him onwards. Through the ravaged city and up the hills towards the castle._

_“Eren!” Eren? Why was he calling for the damned brat prince of all people? Why couldn’t he stop himself? Why was he suddenly so scared? “Eren! EREN! DAMN IT BRAT, WHERE ARE YOU! ANSWER ME!” He created the hill and saw the castle destroyed. Lying scattered about in chunks of wood and stone and gold. Saw the bodies of Mikasa and her guard lying lifeless and strewn about on the earth. And then he saw Eren._

_Cold. It flooded through him with such force that it froze him in place for a moment, stealing away all of the momentum which fear had granted to him. When Levi could finally move forwards again it was only in small unsteady steps on legs which could no longer fully support his weight. He stumbled forwards towards the brutalized form and fell to his knees at his side. Reaching out a shaking hand to the cold blood splattered face._

_Then he heard the sound. A low rasping scratch of scale on stone from directly behind him. Slowly Levi turned his head and glanced up to meet the blood red eyes of the leviathan as its gaping maw rushed towards him._

                Levi sat bolt upright in bed, startled awake by the bellowed “ _fuck!”_ which he realized almost immediately had issued from him. Heart racing and limbs shaking from the adrenaline rushing through him he allowed his body to collapse back against the pillows and lay there, staring up at the ceiling overhead, until the sun had risen fully into the sky.


	4. Royal Tour

Three more weeks had passed and at last Levi found himself free of those damned crutches. Immediately on finding himself able to walk without aid or pain Levi had retrieved his blades from where they’d been stored along with his armor and headed out to the train. Hell bent on burning off as many calories as possible and shedding the pounds which he may or may not have gained in the interim of not being able to do so he’d headed out to train. That had been in the early morning when the sky was stained a pale grey blue and the air was still cold. Now it was nearing high noon and though the fading Autumn left the temperature pleasant his heavy training had left his body overheated and so there he was, sitting under a large tree along the edge of the green at the back of the castle, blades resting on the ground in front of him, waiting for the sweat to dry in the shade.

                He rested with his back propped against the trunk of the massive tree, drifting in and out in a sort of half-awake trance. Watching the heat rising off of the ground amidst the short swaying grass. Watching the occasional small bird hop and flutter through the branches of the trees overhead as the leaves changed from green to yellow to brown. It was only the clattering of armor and loud harsh voices that fully roused him back to awareness.

                Levi straightened up and looked out over the green towards the castle. He saw a group of men, maybe twenty maybe a bit more, all in armor and mounting up on horses. Calling to each other as they headed down the path towards the city. He spared only a brief thought to where they might be going and why before pushing it aside and allowing his eyes to slide closed again. Drifting on the cusp of barely conscious as the light faded into early evening.

                “Levi.” They say that should you speak of the devil then the devil shall appear. Apparently she would from time to time appear regardless as well. In hopes that she’d fuck off on her own if he ignored her for long enough he continued to feign sleep. “Levi.” He didn’t move. “Ackerman, I know that you’re awake so stop screwing around.” The toe of Mikasa’s greave pressed into his side with just shy of enough force to hurt. He recoiled from it regardless with a hiss.

                “Don’t touch me with your filthy ass shoes damn it!”

                She sneered at him and he knew beyond a doubt that she’d done it on purpose. “The Prince requests the presence of his betrothed at his soonest convenience. As you’re clearly not doing anything important,” she stared down his death glare unflinchingly, “I suggest that you answer his summons immediately.”

                Skin prickling with annoyance Levi drew himself up to his full and regrettably unimpressive height and scowled. “As a warrior, or at least someone who carries around a sword, I would have expected you to consider training to be of vital importance.”

                “Sitting under a tree, sleeping is what your people call training?” she scoffed. “I don’t know how you survived long enough to be captured, let alone how you made it through the Halgrind.”

                “Sitting under a tree is what ‘my people’ call recovery. I’ve been working with these blades since five in the morning!” He could feel low fury beginning to vibrate in his veins. He bent and picked up his blades. Clenching the grips in his fists. Feeling the weight of them. He could see her eyes. The sharp glint in their depths as her hand strayed, just slightly but enough to notice, towards her own weapon. He wanted to use them. She clearly wanted an excuse to run him through. But he wasn’t about to give it to her. “But I shouldn’t keep the brat waiting. Now should I?”

                Levi would have loved to see her face in that moment as he turned his back and began heading towards the front of the castle. Footsteps from behind him alerted him to the fact that Mikasa followed not far on his heels. He grimaced but said nothing and sped his pace instead.

                Eren was sitting on the stone stairs outside of the front of the castle, likely having seen off the warriors who had left about an hour before. On catching sight of him those hypnotic eyes lit up and he rose to his feet, smile pure white against his golden face and narrow features. “Levi. There you are.” His gaze drifted to his infuriating shadow. “Thank you, Mikasa, for finding him so quickly.”

                From the corner of his eye Levi saw her bend at the waist. “Of course, my Prince.”

                He returned his attention to him, gaze finding his swords. “Training? So that’s what you were up to?” Levi nodded mutely, barely restraining himself from a ‘no shit’ response. Clearly Eren realized this and it only seemed to amuse him more. “Now that you’ve recovered we can really start showing you what life in the empire is like. Also in the same vein as that thought we’re the royal couple and as such people want to meet us. Which is why this is happening.”

                “Slow down a second brat,” Levi snapped, “ _what_ is happening?”

                “We’re going on a tour, Levi, that’s what. A road trip of sorts.” Eren smiled again at his look of shock. “We’re going to head to the territories of the rest of the Clans. Meet people. See the way that they live and how it differs from life at the capital. Think of it as a vacation of sorts. A chance for us to get to know each other better. Alright?”

                Ugh. “Sounds…marvelous.” Apparently that was convincing enough for the little shithead because he broke out into another stupid grin.

                “Great!” Eren leapt to his feet and grabbed Levi by the arm. Dragged him up the stairs and down the hallway to his room and all but kicked open the door. Small mercy Mikasa hadn’t followed them this time. “We’re leaving tomorrow. Early tomorrow. We need to pack; I’ll help you.” He took a flying leap onto the bed, mussing up the sheets unseating the pillows and, to his dismay, unveiling the book he’d hidden there. “Huh?” All hopes that he might not have noticed the book were immediately dashed as Eren picked it up and flipped it open. “Levi,” his tone was ice, “why do you have a book of maps hidden under your pillow?” Shit. This was bad. Very, _very_ bad! His mind immediately began to race while at the same time he tried to keep the panic from his face while Eren’s eyes narrowed. The predatory expression he’d only ever seen once before back when he’d threatened to have him sacrificed if he didn’t cooperate settled again across his face. “You weren’t thinking of trying to run away, were you? Of going back to those stupid walls of yours? I promise you, darling, that you won’t like the reward you receive for leading me on.”

                “Eren, be rational.”

                “Rational?” he snarled. “I’m being _perfectly_ rational! You were hiding it!”

                “I always put books under my pillow shit head! Makes it easier to read them before bed.”

                “You were _reading_ an atlas?”

                Fuck. He had him there. “If I’m going to become a shifter, marry you and become King don’t you think it would make sense I’d know my ass from my fucking elbow in regards to where everything is in the Empire?” the excuse made a near ridiculous amount of sense. “Not to mention that, as it’s technical rather than conversational language, it’s more of a challenge than the other material I’ve been provided with.” His heart was pounding and despite his perfect mass Levi feared his pulse alone would give him away.

                Eren’s furious expression smoothed over, sliding into one of guilt. He dropped the book onto the bed and lowered his eyes to the floor. “I’m sorry, Levi. I know that I should trust you, we’ll be married soon after all and trust is important for a healthy relationship but I…I don’t want you to leave here. Leave me.”

                Fucking hell. This was just what he needed. The shit head titan prince brat was bound to follow him for sure if he just ran, making it a great deal more complicated for him than simply fucking off opportunity permitting. He absolutely could not afford Eren following him back to the walls. Maybe he could fake his own death somehow? “It’s alright Eren.” Levi spoke slowly after a few minutes had passed. After a moment’s further hesitation he crossed the room and sat beside him. Pulled him closer and allowed the brat to curl into him and bury his face in his neck. _God, why is he always so warm?_ He sighed. “You aren’t the only one with trust issues.” The brunet was shaking, a delicate motion which was barely noticeable. “I’m not going anywhere.”

                “I’m sorry.”

                “I said its fine, so shut up.”

                “…Yes, Sir.” He pulled back and offered a smile which was weaker than usual. Eren reached out and picked up the book again, opening it to a page which Levi had yet to pay much attention to. “Since we have the map on hand why don’t I show you the route that we’ll be taking?”

                If it would distract him from the possessive spaz-out why the hell not? “Sure brat, fire away.”

                The brunet’s smile was no much closer to its normal iteration. “Once we leave here we’ll be headed to the Ventus Clan, and from there to the coast where the Alte live.” His finger traced an invisible line across unmarked borders. “The Sylva will be our next stop and the final leg of our journey will be to the Equos Clan. After that we’ll head back around the mountain to the Capital. All in all, dependent on the weather, the trip from start to finish should take about a week.”

                A week away from direct furtherance of escape. A week where he could gain more of the brat’s trust and potentially learn more valuable knowledge. Maybe prevent another horrifying Jekyll and Hyde moment from occurring in the future. “I think you’re right, brat, about this being a good idea. Maybe it’ll make you realize that I’m not the type of person who takes advantage of relationships.” That lie bit a hell of a lot harder than it had any right to and Levi had to consciously force himself not to wince. It was only made worse by the fact that Eren took him at his word without a thought.

                The raven barely had the time to process the fact that the brunet was getting closer until Eren had kissed him again. That same spark leapt between them and he pulled away as soon as possible to prevent losing himself to its influence. Mostly recovered from his emotional fit Eren stood up. “Well no time to waste if we’re going to get sleep tonight. Let’s get packing.”


	5. Creeping Shadows

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let's see how many of these chapters I can get out before I get distracted by college and Legion.

                Going with little to no sleep had long ago become the norm for Levi, so he was utterly unaffected by the fact that it wasn’t quite yet morning as he carried the small bag of clothes with him out of the castle. If there was absolutely nothing else he’d learned from the Scouting Legion it was the merits of packing light.

                Eren, however, was clearly not a morning person and detested being forced to rise early. He could sense it even before he’d spotted him, half bent over and unable to quite balance with brown hair an utter disaster and green eyes only barely passable as being open. A good sized wooden trunk was sitting at his feet while he waited for him at the bottom of the stairs. Given his cheery demeanor the night prior at the prospect of their trip Levi had expected at least a ‘good morning’ if not to have him suddenly start bouncing around his feet like a little puppy. Instead the Prince let out an unintelligible groan, left his trunk sitting there for the servants to take care of and dragged himself over to the carriage. Levi followed.

                Seeing Mikasa posted at the open door, in armor and armed as usual, did not come as a surprise to him. But the other eight armored figures astride snorting horses scattered about the carriage at seemingly random intervals struck him as more than a little bit strange. Sure Eren was a Prince and the heir apparent and they were traveling a considerable distance but even still Mikasa should have been more than enough. At its face and alone the troop of warriors headed off to who knows where hadn’t seemed particularly odd. But in conjunction with a contingent of guards which seemed more than a little bit excessive Levi had to wonder.

                Something was most definitely amiss here, something that was more than just a ‘royal tour’. His grey eyes darted about at the assembled guards as Eren all but face-planted into the carriage. By the time Levi had followed him in, no more than twenty or thirty seconds later, the brunet had already curled up against the far wall fast asleep. Never in all his life had he seen anyone fall asleep that fast. He settled himself on the seat of the bench beside Eren, where he would have been expected as his ‘betrothed’, and as he’d suspected would happen Mikasa took up occupancy of the bench across from them. The door of the carriage slid closed behind her with a clattering clank.

                “As you’ve seen we’ll be traveling with a guard.” The carriage lurched forwards and then began to move. “It’s merely protocol that the royal family travel with appropriate protection.”

                Levi’s only response was a noncommittal grunt.

                “They won’t be obviously present, merely shadows as we travel from place to place. Once we’ve made it any of the other clans we’ll be safe enough that only I myself will need to accompany you.”

                “Interesting.” He aimed his gaze out the window as the carriage bounced along the road which led down from the hill.

                “You should sleep Levi. We’ll be on the road for a while and with how late Eren told me he kept you up ‘packing’ you can’t have gotten much meaningful sleep last night.”

                _Careful there, you might start sounding like you give a shit._ Levi kept his eyes on the window. “I’m used to running on less than an hour of sleep. Arguably I function better without it.”

                Mikasa didn’t reply. It was almost as if she didn’t have anything else to say to him. Levi watched the capital city pass by outside of the window and then disappear behind them. For a long time Eren’s snoring was the only sound aside from the creaking of the wheels turning below them. Soft, even breathing which was far too comforting to him for his liking. Comforting for reasons Levi didn’t want to fully understand. Eventually through shifting and the occasional bump in the road, the sleeping Prince wound up using him as a pillow.

                _If you drool on me, brat, I am going to kill you._ He could have just pushed him off him and back against the wall, where he’d originally been resting but he didn’t. Levi told himself that the reason why was so as not to arouse the suspicion of the guard. Trying not to acknowledge that the feeling of the brunet’s heat pressed against him in the Autumn chill felt amazing. “You want to cut the bullshit and tell me what’s really going on?”

Her gaze was both cold and curious when she looked up at him. "What's really going on?"

                “The troop of warriors sent out yesterday. The armada of guards that we’ve been sent off with. This is beyond a ‘necessary precaution’ as between you and me nothing is going to get within shitting distance of the brat.” Grey met grey, their gazes like two crossing swords. “What has his parents so damn concerned that they’d not only stick a miniature army with him but send him away from the castle all together?”

                The hostility remained on her face for a moment before sliding back into a familiar blank mask. “You’re definitely perceptive, Levi. I’ll give you that.”

                “Did you think I got my rank by running around with my head up my ass?”

                She ignored this last comment. “Do you really want to know what’s going on?”

                “If I didn’t want to know I wouldn’t have asked you to fucking tell me dipshit!”

                Mikasa adjusted her position, sitting back further in her seat. “Regardless of my opinion on the matter of your Ascension if you’re to be joining us I suppose you ought to know the state of the kingdom. However,” her eyes drifted briefly to Eren’s unconscious form, “the stipulation I have is that you do not speak of this around Eren.”

                What? “Why the hell not? He’s the heir apparent, isn’t he?”

                “He is and he’s an able fighter but he’s also rash. Reckless. And I don’t want him getting it into his head that we’ll be at war and that he’ll be able to fight. Not until it’s true and unavoidable.” As Levi had done before her Mikasa turned her attention to the window. “He’s never suffered to them directly, not yet and I pray to the Gods every day that he never does, but he hates them regardless. With every fiber of his being.”

                “You’re talking about that cult, aren’t you? The Adherents?”

                “I won’t say more until I have your word.”

                Shifting Eren’s weight slightly so that the brat wasn’t resting quite so heavily on his shoulder Levi nodded. “Yes. You have my word.”

                “It’s been a long time since the Adherents have ventured from their putrid hollow, but no one has forgotten the massacre that they committed the last time they raised their ugly heads. Myself especially.” Something haunted passed through her eyes, only barely discernable from the angle at which he viewed it, and a chill passed down his spine. That was a look he’d seen too many times before. A look he himself often wore alone at night as he thought back on the lives he’d failed to save. The look of someone who had lost everything and watched it happen. A survivor who had stood far enough away to make it out alive but close enough to feel the blood splatter fleck their cheeks. “They’ve begun showing signs of movement again over the past few decades. At first they were small. Easy to pass off as nothing of note. But now?” she shook her head. “Their numbers are small now but they are still dangerous. Lord Grisha has sent out an elite contingent of warriors to deal with them once and for all. Preemptively this time.”

                “How small is ‘small’ if twenty or so warriors, elite or otherwise, can reasonably be expected to wipe them out?” Destroy an entire population. To give the order to do such a thing. Even if they were lunatics, murderers, a threat, that was still genocide. Wrong. Deplorable. But rather than finding horror of offense in the idea of men, women and potentially children being cut down Levi’s mind dredged up the ghostly images of that damned nightmare he hadn’t yet managed to fully shake off. Visualized the brunet currently dozing on top of him sprawled across the ground, bloodied and cold.

                “Around fifty we believe. No more than one hundred.” Mikasa seemed to have read at least a portion of his thoughts. The expression on her face was tight. It was clear she thought of the Adherents the way he thought of titans.

                “Good.” He growled. The fading image still raised goosebumps along his skin. “I hope they kill them all.”

                For a moment, so brief he almost didn’t notice it despite looking right at her, an approving smile found its way onto her face. Mikasa said nothing more on matters and Levi resumed his interest in the window, rapidly finding himself sucked down into the abyss of his own thoughts.

                _I’ll have to keep an eye on this situation. If the warriors that were sent to the Lost Lands fail and war breaks out I could use it to my advantage to…_ Levi’s eyes widened as dread froze in his gut. _What am I thinking? If the Acies Clan’s warriors fail war breaks out and the Empire loses I’ll have an even bigger problem to deal with than racing a ticking clock. The Scouting Legion, hell all three branches of the military combined, won’t be enough to save us if that destruction cult turns their attention to the walls._

His hands were shaking. He curled them into fists and rested them in his lap in the hopes that Mikasa wouldn’t notice. Eren slept on, oblivious to his inner turmoil. _If they fail, what will I do?_ Hoping to the Gods, be it those of the Walls or the Shifter’s Pantheon it didn’t matter, that the Acies Clan and their Empire would triumph in a war through numbers alone wasn’t an option. Leaving things up to fate had never sat well with him. But the other choice, the only option left that didn’t lead to the near assured destruction of his home, was in many ways much worse. _As a human you can move mountains but as one of us you could move worlds. That’s what Eren said to me; what he told me he used as one of his arguments towards our relationship. And I know that he believes it._  His eyes fell to his hands again, the fingers pale and clenched and veins standing out against the constant pressure. _Would I be willing to go through with the Ascension in order to be able to fight them? Give up on ever returning to the walls all to prevent them from falling? Would I really be able to sacrifice my humanity if it came down to it?_ Even worse than having to ask himself those questions was having to realize that he couldn’t answer them.

                Not truthfully.

                _You’re a soldier of the Scouting Legion Ackerman. Humanity’s Strongest. You’d willingly lay down your life to one day see the walls come down. See Humanity free._ Now he knew that was a doomed pursuit. _How is making this choice any different?_ The images from another dream assaulted him them. Of the black haired titan with horns on its head standing amidst a field strewn with bodies clad in green. _Fuck. What if I wind up becoming an even worse threat?_

                Levi didn’t have the ability to answer that. His heart was pounding. His mind too clouded with fear and uncertainty to really think. Gradually his succumbed to an uncertain sleep, and though he didn’t dream a distant dry hissing rang in his ears.


	6. Starfall

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hell hath no fury like Levi when he's pushed into the mud.

The hills dales and scattered trees of the Acies Clan’s central territory had gradually given way flattening out to a cast plain of rolling golden grass which swayed rhythmically in the wind. Occasionally Levi would catch sight of a small group of wild horses or a tawny pelted coyote weaving its way in and out of the sunbaked fronds in search of food but for the most part the golden tide viewed through the carriage’s windows went undisturbed. The sky was towering and wide, cloudless and impossibly blue, and the sun shone so brightly that it appeared white in color.

                Mikasa hadn’t said another word to him since the close of their conversation hours before. Eren had since woken up from his nap but, instead of straightening up and getting off of him, had readjusted his position to be lying across Levi’s lap leaving him without much choice in the matter of where to rest his hands. One landed on the brunet’s shoulder, the other in his hair. He tried not to take note of how soft the brown locks were.

                Without fanfare or warning of any sort the carriage suddenly lurched to a somewhat violent stop. Mikasa got to her feet, opened the door and leapt out all without saying anything. Eren sat up at long last, yawned and after declaring “Well, here we are,” went out as well.

                “I don’t know what your definition of ‘here’ is brat,” Levi growled after having grabbed his bag and followed him out, “but this is the _middle of fucking nowhere!”_

                A cold Autumn wind hissed through the golden grass, carrying with it the strong scent of baked vegetation and warm earth. The plains grass reached to the chests of his companions and towered above his head, limiting his vision to what was directly near him. Mikasa cast him a warning glare and Eren laughed, the sunlight glinting off his teeth.

                “Here as in the meeting point with our escort, Levi, not here as in ‘here’.” He snickered. “The Ventus Clan are nomadic herders and don’t have any real set village. They live in camps instead and we have no way of knowing exactly where they are currently staying so we can’t find them on our own.”

                “Prince Eren, your escort approaches!”

                Levi glanced up above the tips of the grass as Eren turned and caught sight of a cloud of pale dust rising into the air from not too far off. Half a minute later two riders and five horses came into view. The pair, a young woman who was all but unremarkable and a young man with a record breaking amount of freckles on his face, dismounted quickly and made their way over to them. Coming to a stop a few feet away, both bowed.

                “Good afternoon Prince Eren, Ms. Mikasa and,” the raven glanced at him with curious brown eyes, “you’re Levi?”

                “No shit, Freckled Jesus.”

                “Disregard the pissy tone. Nicknames means he likes you.”

                “I think that you and I have a misunderstanding in regards to that matter brat.” Eren snickered as if it were a joke and ignored him, arm falling onto his shoulders and nearly lifting him off his feet.

                “I’m Marco, and this is Aya. We’re going to escort you to our camp for lunch if that’s alright?”

                Eren’s eyes immediately lit up. “Lunch? That sounds perfect!” A split second later he was up in the saddle.

                _Damn brat is ruled by his stomach._ Levi followed Mikasa’s example and calmly pulled himself up onto the back of the final horse. He hadn’t realized he’d missed the feeling of being in a saddle until he found himself astride a horse again. Looking around he saw that neither of his two companions seemed at all uncomfortable being mounted either and with Aya and Marco a few strides ahead they left the carriage and the contingent of guards behind. It only took moments for the swaying grass to swallow them up.

                The group rode at a canter for around twenty minutes before the grass gave way with an almost shocking suddenness, revealing a provisional settlement of large tents built from wooden frames and sewn together hides. Horses milled about near scattered hitching posts. A temporary pen kept a herd of cattle contained within a manageable area. They dismounted, tethered the horses and followed their guides to one of the nearest tents.

                It wasn’t clean inside precisely but for a structure with a floor consisting of hard packed dirt Levi decided it was passable enough. There was no furniture to be seen but luckily the interior had been piled high with woven rugs grass stuffed pillows and more hides, eliminating the possibility of having to sit directly on said floor. Which was made of dirt. Inwardly, Levi shuddered.

                “Please, feel free to take an hour or so to rest and eat. Once you’ve finished we’ll take you out with us on a cattle run.”

                Cattle run? Sure that meant more time on a horse but that also meant sweat, dirt and cows which were stupid and all together filthy animals. Levi grimaced. Eren, however, overflowed with enthusiasm.

                “Yes! That sounds amazing! I love horseback riding and I’ve never really been up close with a cow before.”

                Well that was two things they had in common. “Don’t go catching mad cow disease you little shit.”

                Eren stuck his tongue out at him and Marco chuckled before excusing himself. Levi rolled his eyes at the brunet’s childish behavior and turned his attention back to the tent behind them. An assortment of plates and bowls, all made of clay and painted in black ink, had been set out on the red and gold rug in the center of the tent all of which were bearing different dishes. Bread. Corn. Black beans. Some sort of root vegetable Levi had never seen before in his life. Cheese. Meat. Thick cream.

                Eren dove for the food like a starving animal and the raven looked on in horror as he shoved an entire roll into his mouth at once. Mikasa simply sighed and sat down. Levi carefully skirted around Eren and sat down as far away from him as possible to avoid any chance of accidentally losing fingers should the brat’s hand catch his instead of more of the food he was shoveling into his mouth with total abandon.

                “Are you even tasting that at all?” Levi picked up his cup and took a somewhat hesitant sip. Thick, rich and obviously fresh from the semi-off putting warmth of it thought the flavor was clean.

                “Yes.” He spoke through a mouthful of food, then swallowed loudly. “Acquired skill.”

                “You hardly have the manners one would expect out of royalty.”

                Mikasa let out a small pointed cough then but to Levi’s amused surprise it seemed to be directed at Eren instead of him.

                “Just because I don’t always use them, Levi, doesn’t mean I don’t have them.” Eren drained his own glass of cream in one. Levi picked up a roll for himself, mindful of the fact it was still piping hot. Mikasa picked at some corn on her plate, trying to look like she wasn’t paying rapt attention to their banter.

                “I thought that I was marrying a Prince not a wild animal.”

                “You are.” He snorted. “A Titan Prince.”

                He grimaced again. “Even not chewing before you swallow and talking with your mouth full isn’t near as bad as the eating habits of a Titan.”

                Eren seemed to pick up on the chill the statement had caused him and wilted slightly. “Sorry.”

                Silence descended. They finished their meal without another word. Eren picked at his manicured nails nervously. Levi stared into his now empty cup as he turned it in his hands, the clay cold against the inside of his palms. Mikasa’s armor clanked as she finally got to her feet and two sets of eyes, one grey and the other green, looked up at her.

                “If you’re both finished I think its best that we reconvene with our guides.”

                Levi glanced at the ravaged spread before them. “Even if we aren’t finished the food certainly is. There’s nothing left.”

                “I’ll retrieve Marco, then. Remain here until I return if you would please Prince. Levi.” She walked out, the flap of the tent rippling behind her.

                “I’m sorry about her.”

                He looked over in confusion. “What?”

                “About Mikasa.” Eren’s voice was quiet. He suddenly both looked and sounded as if he’d aged a thousand years in the matter of seconds. “Her past…it isn’t easy. She’s like an older sister to me and has watched over me since I was very small. She’s not a bad person, just…”

                “Protective.”

                He nodded. “Overly, at times.”

                Levi snorted. “It’s more than that, shit head. She doesn’t like me.”

                “Give her time.”

                Before he could say anything more his hawkish guard returned through the opening of the tent. “Marco and Aya are waiting for us to join them at the edge of the encampment. It’s best that we don’t keep them long.”

                Eren and Levi both rose to their feet and followed her to where the horses had been left tied up outside. They freed them, mounted up and headed out to where the other two Shifters were waiting. 

                “Lunch was enjoyable, Prince?” Aya addressed Eren while keeping a wary eye on Levi who paid her absolutely no mind. His attention was instead locked on Marco as he opened the pen to allow the cattle free before heading back to his own mount.

                “It was delicious. And more than welcome after such long travel.”

                “You can’t complain about the length of the trip, Eren, when you were unconscious for over 95% of it and using me as a body pillow!”

                Eren laughed. “What can I say. You’re more comfortable than the wall is Levi.” When Aya turned her back to follow Marco the brunet sent him a look with smoldering green eyes which could only be described as lewd. Levi met it with a mild glare and prodded his horse forwards, careful to remain on the outside of their loose formation and as far from the dust kicked up by the herd as possible.

                “Alright, given the changing season there are only a few hours left of daylight.” Marco called to them over the pounding hooves and near deafening lowing. “We want to be back at camp by the time it starts getting dark so we don’t have the time to do a full run. We’ll take them up to water at the river a few miles away and then head back.”

                “Partial run or full run doesn’t matter! This is awesome!” Eren sat dangerously far back in his saddle with yet another doofus grin on his face. Levi found his attention instantly snapping to him so that he could save the brat in case he fell, only vaguely aware of Mikasa doing the same. They rode for about an hour or so and finally reached their destination; a wide bend in a shallow brackish river. Levi dismounted and allowed his horse to join the cattle drinking but didn’t dare go near the water himself as the bank was nothing but a slick of viscous brown mud.

                Eren was staring at the cows with wide eyes, seemingly enchanted by their dappled coats and bone white horns. “Can I pet one?” he finally asked, at last tearing his eyes away to look at Marco.

                The freckled raven seemed mildly confused to be asked such a question but answered “I don’t see why not, they aren’t aggressive creatures. Not usually. Just be mindful not to get in their way.”

                Eren went for the nearest cow but Levi grabbed him by the arm and hauled him back. “Don’t you dare fucking tough one of those shitty brat! Do you have any idea how many diseases those filthy things have?”

                The Prince looked down at him with wide eyes. “But Levi-.”

                “You touch one of those and you are never touching me again! Am I clear?”

                He pouted but gave up on trying to pull himself free. “Yes.” He sounded like a child who’d been forbidden from the cookie jar and the tone affected him a great deal more than he’d like to admit but there was no way in hell Levi was going to let him become contaminated with salmonella or something else equally disgusting unsanitary and contagious. “If I can’t pet them will you at least take a walk with my and check out the river?”

                Mikasa had gingerly waded across the slick of mud and now crouched on a rock at the water’s edge, using the water to clean the pale dust off of her armor. Marco was grooming his horse and Aya was watching over the herd. Levi sighed and nodded, realizing no one else was currently equipped to distract him.

                “Alright, brat. Come on.” Eren fell into step behind him immediately, tottering happily along at his heels. Five minutes passed of him alternating between surreptitiously glancing at Levi and then at the mud about a foot away from them before he spoke again.

                “Levi?”

                “What.”

                “You’re…a little bit of a clean freak?”

                “… … People have called me that in the past, yes.”

                “What would you do to someone if they got mud on you?”

                Murder them. “If I were ever to answer that question you’d never sleep again.” He told him flatly. “Why?”

                “Oh. No reason.” Levi turned his attention back to looking where he was going and consequently missed the mischievous grin that curled across Eren’s face. “Just this.”

                The brunet had bolted before he’d even had the chance to hit the ground. Levi landed with a yell and a splash, mud slathering his front in a thick coating of brown flecking his cheeks and getting in his hair.  He leapt to his feet with a bellow of “ _EREN!”_ almost slipped and fell again then reached solid ground and tore off after him. The Prince cackled and continued running, weaving wildly from side to side, but short legs didn’t mean Levi wasn’t fast and he knocked Eren flat on his front with a flying tackle.

                “It was a joke! It was a joke! Levi, please!” Eren squealed, frantically trying to beat him off. His full intention was to liberally smear the brat in even more mud than he’d already gotten on him during the course of subduing him, just so that they were even, and then strangling him to death but his damned guard was having none of it. Mikasa grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and lifted him no only off Eren but entirely off of the ground.

                “Wow,” Marco and Aya looked on in blindsided shock as Eren, giggling, picked himself up off the ground. “He’s certainly feisty.”

                “ _AHHHHHH!”_

                “If it upsets you so much to be covered in mud, Ackerman, I’d be glad to throw you in the river myself.”

                “Are you fucking kidding me? That water is disgusting! Not to mention that there’s absolutely no point in cleaning off when I didn’t bring a change of clothes out with me because I didn’t expect this dumb ass to push me into the mud!”

                “You’re both covered in it now so call it even, before I take resolving this into my own hands!”

                Still glaring daggers at Eren Levi relaxed in her grip and Mikasa immediately released him. Eren sent him a semi-repentant smile but he turned his back and stormed back to his horse.

                “…We should be heading back anyway, Prince. It will get dark soon.”

                “I’ll let Levi know there’s a spring near the encampment where he can clean up.” Marco hastily hurried away with Aya on his heels.

                “With all due respect, what the hell where you thinking?”

                The Prince cringed at her tone and bowed his head. “It was only a joke, Mikasa.”

                “He’s dangerous, Eren, and not to be toyed with. Human or not he won the Halgrind. And we can’t forget about the rage. He’s a Titan Killer and if you make him angry enough he might turn on you.”

                “He wouldn’t hurt me.”

                Mikasa shook her head, grey eyes like sword steel. “You trust him too much, Eren. He _isn’t_ one of us and he never will be. Not really.”

                “I’m not having this conversation with you.” Now it was Eren’s turn to sound angry. “I did something dumb, hit a nerve and he’s angry with me. I’ll fix it. End of story.” He pulled himself back into the saddle. Neither Mikasa nor Levi spoke to him on the way back and Eren didn’t care. With the current state of things between the three of them any attempts at conversation would likely only have led to another argument.

 

                Levi would have preferred to immediately rush to the spring and rid himself of the filth that the brat’s idiotic stunt had left him covered in but the risk of Eren following him was too great. The shit headed brat had done enough for one day already. His spent tolerance couldn’t handle being spied on while bathing too. So he forced himself to sit and bide his time as the mud congealed in his clothing and dried on his skin until the sun had set and he was confident Eren was distracted by dinner. By then the mud had soaked so deep into the fibers of his clothing that, rather than wasting the time trying to clean it out, he simply gave the articles up for lost.

                The waters of the stream were crystal clear and almost unbearably cold but Levi hardly noticed. It felt incredible to be clean again and he remained standing in the spring until certain his blood would freeze solid in his veins. After changing into clean clothes and drying his hair as much as he could he still found he wasn’t in the mood to see Eren.

                _No way in hell I’m going to be able to avoid that little shit forever if I stay out here._ Night had fallen fully now but it wasn’t yet dark enough for him to be left unable to see.  Levi began making his way quickly back to camp. _Only thing to do is turn in early._

                Mercifully and likely through the intervention of Mikasa who he might now even have to thank later, they had been provided with separate tents. Levi hadn’t realized he was exhausted from the day past until he’d curled up on the nest of hides and pillows and fell asleep in minutes.

                He awoke in the deepest bowels of the night to something warm pressing into his back and even only half-aware Levi knew immediately exactly what it was. Eren’s hand. _God damn it!_ Rather than ask him what the hell he wanted Levi flipped over to glare at him, a look which affectively communicated the question with a great deal more venom than spoken word ever could. The brat’s eyes glowed in the dark like those of a predatory animal, his figure little more than a shadow a few shades darker than the night surrounding them. He lifted something from his lap and held it out towards him but Levi couldn’t see well enough to know what it was.

                “I washed your clothes.” His quiet voice infused the silence, tone low so as not to risk waking anyone in the other nearby tents. “It took a while but I managed to get all of the mud out. I’m really sorry about what I did earlier. I figured it would be funny but I didn’t think it through.”

                Levi turned his back on him.

                “Levi.” A whine had begun to become pronounced in his tone, but Eren seemed to notice and strangled it immediately. He ignored him and tried to go back to sleep. “I know you’re mad at me.”

                _No shit, Sherlock._

                “But there’s something I want you to see. It doesn’t happen often and I think you’ll enjoy it.” Eren was shaking him now, much to the smaller raven’s annoyance. “Please, Levi! It’s going to start any minute!”

                _It?_ Curiosity unwillingly aroused Levi sat up and sent him an icy glare. _Well brat, I’m listening._

                Eren was far more perceptive than he gave him credit for, immediately interpreting the message behind the glare for precisely what it was. He beamed widely and leapt up. “Come on! Hurry!” Out the tent he went. Levi briefly considered just going back to bed but knew Eren would just come back to pester him again so he dragged himself after him. “Hurry!” He repeated, slightly louder and higher pitched than before as he began dragging him by the wrist into the grass. Out of nowhere he stopped and flopped down onto his back, dragging Levi along with him. The fact he landed on Eren’s chest instead of the dirty ground was only small consolation.

                “Damn it, brat! What the-!”

                “Shh!” Eren smiled and gestured him to be quiet but allowed him to squirm free of his grip. “It’s starting.”

                “ _What_ is starting?” He didn’t see anything but grass. Eren pointed straight up with a smirk and Levi tilted his head back. What he saw immediately left him struck dumb. Silver fire was raining down from the heavens, flashing brightly across the sky before burning out into nothing. He’d seen shooting stars before, one or two in his life over the course of many expeditions, and had heard stupid recruits gush about their supposed ‘magical’ properties but they were supposed to be rare. At least, according to Hanji. Yet here he sat watching hundreds of them race across the blackness, one after another.

                “It’s a starfall. They happen every century or so.” Eren’s face was painted with the same wonder as a child on Christmas morning, barely visibly by the light of the thin moon and stars. “Mikasa says that they happen because Yra is putting new stars in their place. That the old ones are being sent to her brother to be repurposed as lightning in his storms.”

                _Ludicrous._ Levi rolled his eyes but couldn’t stop “make a wish, brat,” from slipping out.

                The brunet tilted his head. “A wish? Why?”

                “That’s what we believe, back at the walls. That any wish made on a falling star is destined to come true.”

                “Really?”

                “Really.”

                “Has it ever worked for you?”

                “I don’t believe in that mysticism shit!”

                Eren fell silent. A few minutes later he announced “I made a wish.”

                “Good for you.”

                “I wished that you’d forgive me. So that means you have to, right?”

                “No.”

                “But you said-!”

                “Did I forget to mention that if you tell anyone what your wish was it loses all its power? Whoops. Sorry brat.”

                “Levi!”

                The raven laughed, sitting back against his hands. “Relax, Eren. I forgive you. You washed my clothes that you almost ruined and you know that you fucked up. I trust you won’t do it again?”

                “Never.”

                “Yeah. I definitely forgive you. But don’t think that means we’re even.” Eren tensed slightly. “I suggest you keep your guard up from now on because vengeance is best served cold, brat, and there will come a time when I will push you in the mud.”

                “That’s all?” Eren laughed. “I’m getting off easy.”

                “Disgusting! Unsanitary things aren’t to be taken lightly!”

                “Don’t worry, Levi. Once we get back to the Capital I’ll see about setting up a Royal Cleaning Patrol to help out with the guard.” Levi’s halfhearted swat only made him laugh harder.

                They stayed out together until the last stars faded from the sky.


	7. Rather (Not) Be Fishing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This wound up being surprisingly long.

_Once more unto the breach._ Levi thought wryly, watching as Eren’s mouth fell open a bit wider as they went over a bump. His snoring growing slightly louder by consequence. They hadn’t gone back the Ventus Clan’s encampment until after the last of the stars had disappeared from sight and by then Mikasa was waiting to drag them back to the carriage so he supposed he couldn’t blame him for sleeping as they traveled. In sleep he appeared calm and peacable. Happy, even. For a moment Levi found himself wondering rather inexplicably if Eren was just sleeping or if he was dreaming to and if so of what?

                Was he in it?

                Did he want to be?

                Why was he even thinking about this to begin with?

                Why the hell was he watching the brat sleep anyway?

                _I should have given more thought to the fact that this ‘trip’ would mean inordinate amounts of time stuck sitting on my ass in this rolling golden cage before we left. Should have grabbed a book or something from the damn royal library._ Maybe then he’d have had something else to do by way of entertainment.

                Between the trip out from the Acies Clan’s territory to the Ventus Clan’s territory, the cattle run and ensuing chaos the day prior and the two hours that he’d already spent earlier that day staring out the window Levi had seen more than enough of tall golden grass and had discarded the window as a meaningful source of distraction. That was what had left him stuck staring at Eren as he slept. That and the fact that his only other subject of examination was Mikasa and he didn’t really want to see what staring at her for a couple hours would get him.

                Motion flickered briefly across his lax, narrow features. Green eyes darted about below closed lids. Yes, he was definitely dreaming about something. A thin smile curled across his lips before he mumbled something incoherent and shifted his position. Was it a good dream? It certainly wasn’t a nightmare; he’d had enough of those in his time to know the signs. Again Levi found himself wondering just what it was that was going on in Eren’s head. And wondering why he cared.

                Since the moment they’d boarded the carriage again that morning Mikasa had been utterly silent and by now he’d all but forgotten she was there, so when the sound of plate-clad knuckles rapping against glass rang out without warning he jumped. “Ackerman.” He turned to look up at her, annoyed to be ripped so suddenly from his thoughts. “I think you’ll want to see this.”

                Her hand fell away from the window, leaving him with a clear view of what lay on the other side. _What the shitting hell is that?_ Tall green grasses gave way to golden sand which was swiftly swallowed up by something which was big and blue and most definitely not the sky. He stared at it in absolute confusion for a few more moments until comprehension dawned and he realized exactly what it was that he was looking at.  A myth from mankind’s distant past. A fable spoken of in hushed voices between ghost stories on dark nights. “Is that…the ocean?”

                She’d probably only pointed it out because she’d gotten sick of watching him stare with mindless fixation at Eren as he slept, but on the off chance she’d done it to get a reaction out of him he certainly delivered. And couldn’t have brought himself to give a shit if he’d tried. The ocean. They were going to the fucking ocean! How deep was it? Was it really salty? How far out did it go? Was there something on the other side? If so, were there Titans there too? Was there another place where Humanity existed, free or otherwise, or were the walls truly their last bastion? The fading ruins of a fallen kingdom?

                The ocean offered up no answers but his eyes remained locked on the sapphire waves for the remainder of their travels.

                Eren awoke with a soft snort when the carriage rolled to a stop. As before, Mikasa opened the door and the trio filed out. The first thing Levi noticed, and noticed instantly, was that between the sunlight and the sandy soil the temperature at the Alte Clan’s coastal village was far closer to what he’d expect from Summer than Fall. Warm. The next thing he noticed was the smell of the air, salty and unfamiliar and anything but unpleasant as the damp breeze wove between the wooden shakes making up the settlement.

                “Last one to the beach is a rotten egg!” Eren was off like a bullet fired from a gun, kicking up geysers of sand as he went.

                “Oh no you don’t, brat!” His age, predicament, current company and every other stressor or concern which had been weighing down on him since his capture evaporated with a shocking suddenness in the face of the ocean. The ocean. The ephemeral concept which he’d never once in even his most wild dreams believed he’d ever see, let alone touch, and was now only a hundred yards away. There was no way he was going to let the brat beat him to it. In an instant, with the waves crashing in his ears and the sea breeze caressing his face, he felt more like a child than he ever had and took of running after Eren.

                “Eren! Levi! Both of you! Come back!” Mikasa lunged forwards but wasn’t fast enough and her fists closed around air and sand. She called after them but received no reaction and looked on helplessly as the pair vanished down a narrow path through the sea oats.

                “Come on, Levi! You’ll lose if you don’t pick it up!” Eren laugh, leaping as high into the air as he could before rolling head over heels down a sand dune. Levi slid down another with no regard for lack of traction and both wound up reaching the bottom, covered in sand, at exactly the same time.

                “Well, brat, looks like it’s a draw. Unless you’re planning on making that guard of yours the ‘rotten egg’.”

                “Mikasa? Nah.” Instead of getting up Eren began making an angel in the sand with wide sweeps of his arms and legs. “She wouldn’t have even bothered to chase after us. But if we hadn’t run off we’d have been stuck with her as she saw to some arrangements and I don’t want to waste a second at the beach. I’ve only been a couple times. What about you?”

                “Me?” Levi had crouched down onto his haunches and picked up a handful of sand, watching the warm golden grains slip between his fingers like water. “To those of us trapped behind the walls the ocean is basically a myth. Until today I didn’t believe it really existed.”

                “In that case,” he was on his feet again in a second, “let’s get closer.” Levi didn’t object and followed close behind as Eren trotted forwards-pulling off his shoes and shirt as he went and tossing them careless into the sand-until they reached the place where the waves licked the earth. Here he stopped. The brunet, already up to his waist in the water, turned back to look at him in confusion. “What’s wrong?”

                The crowd roaring. The sharp stone cutting into his bare skin, stinging as salt mixed with blood while he struggled to climb free of the water. The other gladiator circling just below the surface. “Nothing, brat.” He bent slowly at the waist. Removed his shoes socks and shirt one at a time and folded them neatly, setting them carefully on the sand and edging forwards only once he could stall no further. “I’m coming.” Another wave rushed forwards onto land, spilling over his feet and rising to his ankles, and Levi jumped. “Fuck! This water is freezing Eren!”

                Eren laughed and flicked some more of the cold water at him. It didn’t quite come close enough to get him wet but Levi still aimed a glare at him. “You’ll get used to it quickly. Come on.”

                “Swimming isn’t exactly my forte, brat. I’m sure you remember how my fight with the fish bastard went.”

                “We won’t go too far out.” Eren promised. “I’m a good swimmer so even if you aren’t you won’t be in any danger.” He held out a hand, still dripping with cold water. “Trust me.”

                Trust him? _In any other situation I’d be quick to refuse but with all the trouble he’s already gone through to keep me alive I don’t the brat would drown me._ Somewhat reluctantly Levi took Eren’s offered hand and allowed him to pull him into the surf. Deeper into the water and against his own body. “Brat.” Eren’s hot skin felt marvelous against him as the cold water lapped at the bottom of his ribs, and this close he could clearly feel the definition of his muscles. “I don’t recall giving you permission to touch me.”

                Eren buried his face in Levi’s hair, hot breath fanning across his scalp and the back of his neck. “I know.” His voice had deepened into a growl. “Do you mind?”

                “Yes. I do.” Levi succeeded in pulling himself free of the other’s grasp. “Shitty brats should ask permission before they touch things which don’t belong to them. And as I am your ‘betrothed’ and not your pet-not anymore-I don’t belong to you.”

                “You enjoy harping on that, don’t you Levi?” Before he could respond Eren had dove into the water, cutting a wave like a blade and vanishing from sight. Unfortunately for Levi he didn’t quite react fast enough and the wave broke over his head instead.

                His question about whether the water was really salty or not was answered in the affirmative. Levi came up spluttering to see Eren howling with laughter, which quickly cut off into a coughing fit as a well-aimed splash filled his open mouth with salt water.

                A war broke out between them in short order after that as the pair exchanged mini tidal waves. Eren would use his extra few inches of height to his full advantage and dart out into deeper waters and out of range, forcing Levi to swim out after him in order to have any hope of connecting. If Eren had hoped to use the veteran Scout’s impaired mobility to his advantage as well e was sorely disappointed. Levi didn’t care if the object of a splash fight was, traditionally, to soak your opponent while remaining dry yourself; he avoided Eren’s biggest splash yet by diving down beneath the water. He grabbed the Shifter by the waist and dragged him down below the surface with his weight.

                He expected him to struggle free and make for the surface, admit defeat, but instead he pulled him closer and pressed their lips together while they were surrounded by water and his back rested against soft sand.

                “What the hell was that?” he demanded once Eren has released him and they’d surfaced.

                “A kiss.”

                “Under the fucking water?”

                He shrugged. “I’m a predator, Levi. It’s in my nature to take advantage of presented opportunities.” The tingle that those words sent through him wasn’t fear and it certainly didn’t help matters that, surrounded by color of his eyes and dripping wet, he had to admit the brat was beyond good looking.

                If he were to really be honest with himself blondes had never been his type to begin with.

                Brunets on the other hand…

                _Damn it, he’s a Titan!_ _I hate Titans!_ He’d hated Erwin too, at first. Hated him more than he’d hated Eren the first time he’d seen him. …Hell, if he really thought about it he didn’t hate Eren at all. _Snap out of it, Ackerman! Don’t let yourself get swept up in your own charade! You’re only supposed to PRETEND to fall in love with him!_

                Falling in love with Eren. Was that really what he was doing? And if the answer was yet, was that really such a bad thing?

                _Yes it’s a bad thing! He’s! A! Titan!_

                A weak argument. Even in the face of the oaths he’d sworn to the fallen and the promises he’d made to himself, even while thinking of what had happened to Farlan and Isabelle, all it took was one look at Eren and any hope of it holding water was dispelled.

                _You need to get out of here._

                And then what? Even if he succeeded in escaping from the Empire and making it back alive through hundreds of miles of Titan country it was already closing in on a year since he’d been taken. How could he ever begin to explain where he’d been? How he’d survived? Who would believe him?

                _You’re Humanity’s Strongest. They need you!_

                No. They didn’t.

                “Uh…Levi?” Eren’s semi-concerned voice made it through to him only vaguely. “Mikasa is standing on the beach yelling at us. We should probably head in before we make her any angrier.”

                Shaking off the internal monologue Levi looked up. Sure enough there stood Eren’s raven haired guard, glaring at them from just beyond the reach of the waves.

                “Well, shouldn’t keep her waiting shit head. Let’s get back to shore.” He used the brat like a spring board, pushing off of him to propel himself forwards through the water. A sound of complaint and a loud splash rang out from behind him but Levi ignored them both as his head went under once again. _Distance yourself, you’re not thinking clearly. Get your head back on straight before you go talking yourself into something rash!_

                Sand gloved his wet skin. Sea water dripped from his pants and hair as Eren rolled artlessly free of the surf only to quickly leap to his feet.

                “And you say that you can’t swim!”

                “You should be more concerned about the sand castle in your hair, Eren. Go wash off a bit and then come back.” He told him.

                “He can do that in a few minutes. Darion, our guide, is waiting at the pier to take the two of you out by boat.”

                Levi sent her a rather surprised look, barely registering the disapproval on her face at the sight of their mutual soaked state. “Boat?”

                “Yes. Boat. Fishing boat.”

                “How far out are we going, Mikasa?” Eren piped up brightly while Levi cringed at the thought of fish. Living fish. The kind that hadn’t already been disinfected and cooked.

                “I’m not entirely sure; all I was told was ‘out to where the fish are’. Shouldn’t be more than mile or two off shore. Still,” her gaze became stern as it landed on Eren, “keep the horseplay to a minimum. Watch for currents and don’t swim of there’s fish blood in the water. I don’t want either of you being drowned or eaten on my watch.”

                “Wait, you aren’t coming with us?” Levi supposed that the Adherents they were so worried about wouldn’t come popping up from the dark below like some horrifying monster but with how overbearing Mikasa was towards Eren he hadn’t expected that reality to make a difference.

                “No. I won’t be coming with you.” She informed him sharply. “I have too much to take care of overseeing the guard while they sweep the village and make preparations for a night patrol rotation.” But as she said this her eyes flashed of their own accord to the water beside them. Levi saw the nervousness in them and smirked.

                “Are you sure you’re not just afraid of water?” he snickered.

                “I am _not_ afraid of water!” Mikasa hissed. “I just-!”

                “Can’t swim?”

                If looks could kill he’d have dropped dead then and there. Rather than answer him, rise to his prodding or deepen Eren’s confusion she simply pointed down the beach towards the hazy shape of the pier in the distance and snarled “you’re expected at the pier.”

                Eren stepped forwards and rested a warm sandy hand on Levi’s shoulder, leaving a smear of black and tan across his pale skin. “Come on. We should get going.” He allowed the brat to pull his attention away from the still bristling ravenette.

                From where they stood the pier appeared to be maybe 300 yards away across a smooth expanse of damp golden sand. The deep blue waves hissed and sighed. The white and black forms of seagulls hung, screeching, overhead.

                “Hey brat.” Eren’s ocean hued eyes turned on his questioningly. “How about we see to settling the score from earlier?”

                “Settling the score?”

                Did they not use that term here? “Yeah.” Levi told him calmly, patiently as he dragged his toes through the warm sand. “I’ll race you to the pier. If you win, I’ll let you…pick one thing that you want to do and I’ll let you without complaining. But if I win you have to cut it the hell out with all of your touching? Sound good?”

                “If I win,” Eren asked him, the spirit of competition gleaming in his eyes, “I get to choose one thing?”

                Levi nodded. “Yes. One thing.”

                The expression on his face was now beginning to tilt towards evil. “Anything?”

                “Short of fucking, yes.”

                “And if you win I have to stop touching you.” Levi nodded again. “For how long?”

                “Permanently, shit head!”

                “Levi!” Eren whined. “That’s hardly fair!”

                “Life isn’t fair! Take it or leave it!”

                “…” the brunet sighed and walked up beside him, taking his position behind the line which Levi had drawn in the sand. “Fine. But don’t expect that I’m going to lose to you when the terms are what they are.”

                “Funny. I was about to say the same thing to you.” Levi sank down into a sprinter’s pose and Eren did the same. “Count of three, brat. One…two… _three!_ ”

                The only reason he’d set the terms as what they were was because Levi knew, without a doubt, that he was in no danger of losing. He may have been short and, for his height, was a bit on the heavy side-all muscle-but he was far faster than people assumed at first glance. And all the time that he’d spent in the underground had taught him how to run.

                Eren fell behind instantly. The distance wasn’t much, maybe a stride or two, but it was more than enough to cement his victory. The pier was rapidly growing closer. Becoming clearer and cleared with each step he took. Eren was dogged but it wouldn’t be enough. There was no way in hell he was going to let him catch up.

                The beach however seemed to have its own ideas about who the victory of their little race should be. The sand gave way. His feet slipped out from underneath him. Levi went down, landing on his shoulder and rolling safely back up onto all fours, but by then it was too late. Eren had reached the pier, turned around and was now walking back towards him with a grin of triumph on his face.

                _Fuck._ The brat stopped in front of him. _I lost. I can’t believe this._

                Eren reached a hand down to help him up. “Are you alright? It looked like you went down pretty hard.”

                “I’m fine, brat.” Levi grunted, pushing his hand away and getting up. “Let’s just get on the damn boat.” He brushed sand off of himself and headed towards the pier. Eren followed.

                Sun bleached planks of wood clanked beneath their bare feet as the pair walked down towards the end of the pier. Here, and older man with salt crusted hair and a wind tanned face stood waiting for them in a boat which when compared to the expanse of blue they’d be traversing was a bit too small for Levi’s liking.

                He watched as Eren exchanged brief pleasantries with the man, and then reluctantly followed the brunet into the boat. Long paddles and powerful strokes took them out quickly and soon the shoreline disappeared completely. When they stopped Levi could see nothing but conflicting shades of blue stretching on forever in all directions. Sunlight sparked off the water and warmed their exposed skin. Relaxing despite himself as the boat rocked gently from side to side, he propped himself against the edge and began to drowse, only to nearly fall overboard when something dark red and bloody was shoved into his face.

                “I’m sorry Levi, didn’t mean to startle you. I thought you heard me coming.” He only now recognized the bloody mass in Eren’s hand as what it was. The entrails of some small animal. They oozed between his fingers and left his hand coated in rusty red blood. “Do you want some?”

                “ _Why the hell would I want any of that filthy shit?”_

                Eren blinked. “To bait your hook.”

                “I’m not baiting anything and I’m not fishing! Fish are fucking filthy!”

                “You are if you want to eat tonight.” A shadow of that damned expression again. Cold flooded through the raven. “Here,” Eren turned away and picked up a bone hook attached to a thin line, “I’ll bait the hook for you and I’ll take your fish off if you don’t want to touch it.”

                The brunet flung the finished product at him and Levi was all too thrilled to drop it into the water so he wouldn’t have to touch it anymore. Eren leaned over the side to clean the blood and viscera from his hands and, at least from Levi’s point of view, nearly capsized the little vessel. The squirming scaly thing that he brought up a handful of minutes later was utterly horrifying and he was glad when it had been pulled off the hook and tossed into a nearby wooden box.

                _Disgusting._ He went back to staring at the feathered bobber of his own line just to have an excuse to avoid the chartreus eyes he knew were now resting on him. About another hour passed before he got a bite. Considering the awful thing that Eren had dragged from the depths Levi almost didn’t want to bring in his line and when he did he made sure that the brunet made good on his offer to unhook it for him. “Before you ask, brat, the answer is no. I’m not putting out another line. I’m not reeling another one of those things! I may not even eat the one I have because that bastard looked a hell of a lot more like a snake than any fish has a right to!”

                “It’s an eel, Levi.”

                “I don’t fucking care what you call it, it doesn’t make it any less disgusting!”

                Eren chuckled. “You’re sure that you’re done fishing?”

                “Do I need to repeat myself?” he hissed. “Yes. Done. Forever!”

                “Good. Because I want to go swimming again. Care to join me?”

                “No.”

                “But-.”

                “I said no, brat!”

                He sighed. “Suit yourself then.” A graceful swan dive took him out of sigh. He resurfaced a ways away and proceeded to frolic about in the cold water alone for a while before growing bored and swimming back. Stopping beside the boat and just floating there, staring at him with shameless puppy dog eyes, until Levi couldn’t ignore him anymore.

                “What?” he snapped.

                “I’m lonely.”

                “Then come back in the damn boat.”

                “But I want to swim.”

                “Then swim.”

                “But I’m lonely.”

                Grey eyes narrowed. “What do you expect me to do about that?”

                “Come swim with me.”

                “No.”

                Silence for almost five minutes. Then, “please.” The tone wasn’t one he’d heard before and something about those eyes went right through him.

 _Fucking hell._ He sighed and reluctantly got to his feet. “Alright, brat. But only for a little while.”

                He leapt off the boat and came up face to face with the beaming grin. Then Eren was off again, darting through the water like a fish and leaving his companion to flounder about with all the grace of a drowning grizzly bear. The water was even colder here than it had been close to shore but the waves were smaller and came at more regular intervals. Levi was so wrapped up in trying to keep up with Eren that, when the brunet suddenly vanished, it took him a few seconds to realize it.

                He only had time to take in a surprised gasp of air before a warm hand on his ankle pulled him under. Salt stung his eyes as the surface fell away out of reach into a distant mural of white and blue. Levi looked down and saw him, staring back with eyes that matched the greenish-hue of the depths below them hands locked on his ankle and legs beating a steady rhythm as his brown hair floated freely about his face. Levi looked at him and stopped his panicked struggling, realizing despite himself and the mild burning in his lungs and the fact that he hung suspended in what was anything but his element he felt safe. And coming to the reluctant conclusion that that was all because of Eren.

                Seeing that he had his attention the smile grew wider. One of his hands released him and shifted out to his side, pointing off to their right, and Levi tore his eyes away to look for himself. He was met with the sight of a massive creature slowly swimming upwards towards the surface, staring at them both through a big brown eye from not twenty feet away. Eren released his hold completely and swam level with him, motioning for him to follow, then moved in towards the creature.

                Even the largest Titans that Levi had seen didn’t come close to matching the size of this strange and seemingly gentle beast. It didn’t make any reaction as Eren swam up along its back to grab its fin, allowing it to tow him through the water while Levi-amazed but more cautious than his companion-hesitantly touched it. He expected scales or slime but instead found that it had hair and leathery skin. Unable to hold his breath any longer he made for the surface and Eren followed.

                “What is that thing?”

                “A whale.” He brushed soaked bangs back from his eyes. “Watch this. It’s coming up to breathe.”

                “Fish don’t breathe air, brat!”

                Eren glanced back at him and smirked. “These ones do.”

                Before Levi could contest him further the whale’s great back broke the surface and a spout of water shot into the air accompanied by a sound which, to his dismay, reminded him of someone blowing their nose while suffering from a severe cold. He shuddered as it dove back down, the massive tale vanishing back below the surface.

                “Please tell me that what’s raining down on us right now isn’t snot!” Eren burst out laughing and started swimming back towards the boat. “Oi! That’s not funny, brat! Answer me, damn it!”

                “We need to head in. It’ll be getting dark soon and evening is when the sharks come out. Believe me, you don’t want to run into one of them.” The raven tried not to focus too much on how the water ran down the muscles of Eren’s back as he pulled himself into the boat. “Especially since you can’t regrow your limbs yet.”

                Were sharks the size of whales? Bigger? Either way he suddenly found himself unable to get out of the water fast enough. Thankfully their tiny vessel was not swallowed up by a mysterious unseen beast on their way back and within two hours they were disembarking onto dry land.

                “Oh, look!” Eren held the box of fish in his arms. “There’s Mikasa and the guard. They’ve already gotten a cooking fire started!”

                “Eren! Don’t run with that box! If you trip you’re going to get fish guts all over yourseld!”

                Of course he ignored him and scampered on ahead. Levi shook his head before proceeding calmly after him onto the sand. By the time he got to the fire Eren had already hung their catch over the coals. When Levi took a seat on an open log the brunet perched next to him and held out a cup.

                “I brought tea leaves with us from the Capital: black because I know that’s your favorite.” When the raven didn’t react fast enough for his liking he gently pushed the hot cup into his hands. “I noticed that you were getting a little bit annoyed with me and I figured that I’d been a bit of a pain today. I asked them to make a pot for you while we were out.”

                “…” he turned his eyes back to the flickering flame and adjusted his grip on the cup. “Thanks brat.”

                “You drink weird.”

                Levi almost choked on his tea. “The hell does that mean?”

                “Nothing bad, so don’t go getting all defensive.” Eren smirked and tried without success to mimic Levi’s grip on his own cup only to spill tea all over himself. “Ouch! How do you even hold your cup like that anyway?”

                “Everyone has their quirks, Eren. This is how I’ve always done it.”

                The only good thing about the wasted tea was that nursing the scald marks on his hand replaced pestering him as Eren’s top priority. The fish finished cooking and, to his un-verbalized dissatisfaction, he was handed the disgusting snake-fish-eel thing that he’d caught by the brunet. How he’d ever reached the point where he was hungry enough to even consider eating it he didn’t know, but once he’d looked past the jagged teeth and pulled away the leathery skin he was surprised to find it edible enough.

                Discarding the bones into the nearby brush once they’d been picked passably clean he tossed the stick that it had cooked on into the fire and resumed staring at the flames. The night deepened around them and though the temperature dropped it never quite reached the point where it could be considered cold. Quiet conversation buzzed around him between Eren and their guard. The fire crackled loudly as a log inside of it broke in half, sending sparks sailing upwards in a column or red and gold.

                “Levi.” He started slightly and looked up at Eren, blinking away the spots of color from his eyes as his vision struggled to readjust to the dark. He hadn’t heard him get up or seen him move at all but suddenly he’d materialized beside him. “I need to stretch my legs so I’m going for a little walk. Please join me.”

                They’d been sitting for a while now and a feeling of numb needles had begun to prickle in his legs. “Me too, brat.” He rose to his feet. “Let’s go.”

                Mikasa looked up at them as they left but didn’t speak or follow. The darkness of the night rapidly swallowed them as the fire fell away to a distant speck of vivid orange.

                “Don’t think that I don’t know the real reason you dragged me out here Eren.” Levi could see his own eyes, glowing silver with the faint moonlight, reflected back at him in the other’s gaze. “You’re planning on collecting your prize. Well, what do you want?”

                “I want to kiss you, Levi.”

                “You did that earlier.”

                “No. Really kiss you. Like how I did at the festival.”

                Tongues twinning. Teeth clicking. Hands grabbing. Control slipping. _This is the last thing that I need when my resolve is already beginning to fall apart._

                Eren hadn’t stopped staring at him. Watching his face for any signs of reaction that might show there. “You told me that if I won I could have anything I wanted as long as I didn’t ask for sex.” He had said that and ow he was stuck. Not expecting to lose was far from a valid excuse. “Just one kiss. It will be over quickly and I won’t ask again.”

                “Eren…” behind them the sea sighed. “Alright. Lay it on me brat, let’s get this over with.”

                A large, impossibly warm hand came up to gently turn his face. In the darkness of the night all Levi saw before their lips met were Eren’s green eyes getting closer. He kept his hands stubbornly at his sides even as the other pulled him closer, sending him falling forwards into his taller frame and pressing their bare chests together. The brunet’s tongue darted out, requesting entry, and though he knew that by doing so he was opening Pandora’s box he let it in.  Electricity surged through him just as it had at the festival, heat began to pool in his stomach and his hands moved of their own accord. One grasped Eren’s shoulder while the other knotted in his hair. He couldn’t breathe. Was drowning in sensation. Burning alive from the inside out. And as much as it panicked him a part of him welcomed it.

                A deep resonant purr began to rumble from his assailant as Eren began to trail smaller kisses along the contour of his cheek bone. “Stop, Eren.” He didn’t recognize the breathy husky tone which came out as his own voice. The brunet ignored him, beginning to nibble at the skin on the side of his neck. “Enough!”

                He pushed him and Eren withdrew, face flushed and eyes glazed over. Levi had the presence of mind to realize he probably didn’t look much better. “Sorry.” He gasped. “I…got carried away. For how adverse you are to affection you certainly seem to enjoy it, Levi.”

                _Enjoy it? More like I’m desperate for it._ His head wanted to get the hell out of there and go home but his body wanted to stay precisely where it way. Preferably either below or behind the Shifter that had just been ravaging him.

                “Do you want to go back to the fire?” Eren asked him softly, breaking his train of thought. “It’s getting late.”

                “No. I’m fine out here.” Levi answered after a long pause. “There’s too many people at that fire. It’s quieter here. I can hear the ocean.”

                “We can stay here all night. Would you like that?”

                “What about sleeping, shit head? Or do you just reserve that for the carriage now?”

                “No one said we couldn’t sleep here too.” He could hear the smirk. “Of course…only if you want to. I mean…it’s kind of dirty out here.”

                “No.” The raven reclined back against the soft sand. “I’m fine out here. The sand is warm and, like I said, I can hear the ocean.”

                “Then we’ll stay.” He could feel Eren continue to watch him as he settled down and closed his eyes. Began to drift.

                The cracks in his walls were beginning to become impossible to ignore. Soon, he felt sure, they’d begin to crumble away completely. What terrified him most was he’d come to realize the reality of the fact that, if they were anything like the one’s he had come from, when they finally tumbled and fell there just might be a Titan inside.


	8. Broken Wings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren isn't stupid. Levi knows he's in the dog house.

Levi came back to consciousness slowly, gradually surfacing from sleep to the rushing of the waves coming up onto land. The sand had preserved its warmth through the night and over the course of the hours that he’d spent sleeping there had taken on a vague impression of his body. The sun had risen but not far and remnants of pink clung to the narrow clouds which gathered near the horizon line.

                Another imprint in the sand not far away made it clear that Eren had indeed slept beside him the night prior but had since vacated the spot. Levi reached a hand to the contouring of the flattened area and gathered, from the temperature, that he hadn’t been there in a while. Once he started looking it didn’t take him long to locate him and on doing so he relaxed back against the soft sand for another moment before slowly sitting up.

                Eren had gotten up and moved down the beach from where they’d settled down the night before. He was now sitting near where the ocean’s touch left the sand a few shades closer to grey than gold with his legs pulled up to his chest and his chin on his knees as the wind blew through his brown tresses.

                “You’re up early.”

                The brunet spared him only a brief glance when Levi sat beside him. “I suppose.” He said and returned his eyes to the horizon. “I wanted to watch the sunrise.”

                “I’ve seen a few before. They aren’t all they’re cracked up to be.” Levi focused on the horizon too. “If you’re smart you’ll drop all stock that you might have in all of that romanticism bullshit. There’s no place for it in this world. All that sunrise means is the dawning of another day in hell.”

                “Surely it means more than that to you, Levi.” Eren spoke quietly and when he looked at him his eyes were sad. “At the very least to symbolize another day alive.”

                “Another day of being alive?” he scoffed. “You want to know the truth, brat? Even if they don’t realize the fact or simply won’t admit it every single one of us stuck behind those fucking walls wishes that we were dead. Until we are, that is. At that point I have to figure that they regret having wasted the time.”

                “I’d forgotten. That you were a soldier before you were brought here.” Eren sighed and shifted his position. “You must hate us. Hate us for everything we have that the walls do not. Hate us for living like we do while Humanity suffers.”

                He shook his own head as he pulled his own knees to his chest as well, mimicking Eren’s position. “What is there to hate you for, brat? Our races fought a war. Yours won. We got what we deserved.”

                “Is that really what you think, Levi?”

                “Shitty brat. I’d have thought you’d known me long enough by now to know I’m not the type to go around spouting someone else’s dumb ass opinions.”

                The brief smile that the raven caught out of the corner of his eye didn’t fully touch those of the other. “So does that mean you’re going to stop trying to leave me?”

                “What are you talking about, Eren?”

                There was no humor in his laugh. “I’m not a fool. And even with how much I care for you I’m not blind, regardless of whether or not you’re capable of wrong in my eyes.” Eren wouldn’t look at him. “I’ve been talking to Armin. He’s told me all about the sort of questions that you ask. The nature of the content you’re interested in learning. Between that and the book that I found under your pillow-.”

                “I told you why I had that. You told me you believed me.”

                “You, Lance Corporal, are not the only one who is good at lying.” The Prince’s sharp words were delivered in a stressed tone. “If you’d like to know I can tell you the truth behind this trip. It wasn’t my parent’s idea, it was mine. I simply played on their concern regarding the shit that the Adherents have been kicking up. Don’t think that Mikasa’s attempts to shelter me would prevent me from finding out.”

                “Eren-.”

                “I’m stubborn, Levi, but even my will can only go so far. If you don’t love me then I don’t want you here, as I refuse to be turned into the Dragon that keeps you locked up in some tower! I organized this trip because I’d hoped that I might still get through to you.” He turned his head back towards the remnants of the fire from the night before where the guard still sat, half asleep and the other half watching their exchange. “When we return, if you still wish to leave, it will only be halfheartedly that I attempt to stop you.”

                “…The truth, brat, is that I don’t know what I’m going to do.” He didn’t know why he felt the sudden need to divulge to him, or why he’d ever act on the impulse. “At first it was only a ploy. I wanted to go home and knew that you were my best shot at doing that, so I used you.”

                He didn’t know what he expected in way of a reaction out of the Prince, but a small smirk wasn’t it. “At first?” he repeated. “And what about now?”

                “… …”

                “Levi,”

                “If you’re expecting me to tell you that since then Cupid flew down from on high and shot me in the ass you’re going to be disappointed, Eren.”

                “So you don’t love me.” The dejection was tempered by the clear reality that he’d expected it.

                “Don’t put words into my mouth.”

                “So you’re going to tell me that you do?

                “I’m not going to tell you anything. Like I said I don’t know myself.”

                “When that changes you’re going to have to let me know. I’m sick of waiting for you to come to a conclusion on your own, so now you have an ultimatum: I expect your decision by the time we return to the Capital.” He relaxed his features and rose. “Good morning, Mikasa. I’d assume we’re moving on?”

                The ravenette eyed Levi-who hadn’t been able to school his own expression back to normal quite quickly enough-pointedly and seemed to realize that something was amiss but didn’t question Eren’s behavior. “Yes. We’ll be heading out to the Sylva Clan’s territory soon. You’re both expected at the carriage within the next 20 minutes.”

                “Thank you. We’ll be there.” She lingered a bit longer than was really necessary before walking away. If Eren noticed he didn’t comment. Once she was gone he started walking back towards the pier but Levi stopped him.

                “Eren-.”

                “Are you taken, Levi? Do you already belong to someone else? Is that why you’re so hell bent on going back?”

                The suddenness of the question left him momentarily speechless. “I was in a relationship with someone, yes, but we broke it off-not amicably, might I add-because he went behind my back with someone else. But I believe I’ve already told you this.”

                “All that’s waiting for you back at those walls is pain, so why do you find it so hard to let go? I don’t understand.”

                There was a hitch in his voice and Levi found himself grateful that he couldn’t see his eyes. “I’ve asked you before to give me time.”

                “Have your time then, Human!” His voice was cutting now as he started walking again. “You can spend it alone!”

                He left him alone to spend his remaining time at the beach and still hadn’t cooled off by the time that they were back in the carriage. Eren sat beside Mikasa this time instead of by him and didn’t say a word only sending the occasional angry glare his way as if to remind him of his injured feelings. No one said anything for the entirety of their trip into the territory of the Sylva Clan, making that particular leg of travel a memorably uncomfortable one. When they finally did arrive Eren broke pattern by bolting out of the door ahead of everyone but when Levi made to follow him out Mikasa seized him by the back of his shirt.

                “If you want to leave, Ackerman, just say the word. I’d be happy to take you back to the walls, and throw you over them, myself.” The look in her eyes was anything but friendly. “It would be a blessing from the Gods to have you out of Eren’s life forever. He deserves better than you as a partner. And our people deserve better than you as a King!”

                She released him instantly after finishing her speech and nearly knocked him over while exiting the carriage herself. Levi straightened his clothing before following them and barely had a chance to look around him at the village before being prodded forwards by a pommel to the back. He stumbled a moment and regained his balance, aware of the threat of her just behind him as they headed towards a group of horses.

                “Woah, it’s a real live Human! I never thought I’d get to see one of them.” A brunet with brown hair done back into a messy pony tail a potato in one hand and a quiver across her back was staring at him as if he were some exotic animal. “Do Humans eat potatoes?” a ridiculous question directed at Eren, who didn’t answer. And then she asked “does he bite?”

                “No, I do not ‘bite’!” Levi growled. “But I do talk and would appreciate not being referred to as if I were a deaf inanimate piece of furniture!”

                “Ignore him, Sasha.” Eren simpered, turning up his nose as he slid gracefully into the saddle. “That’s what I plan to do.”

                “Why you little-!” Another sharp push knocked him forwards, teeth opening a shallow cut on his bottom lip. Blood dribbled down over his chin and, once he’d regained his balance, Levi wiped it away on the back of his hand. Turning back to torch the ravenette with a particularly vicious glare Levi was nearly lifted off of his feet by the bow and quiver she tossed into his chest. Winded and now the last member of their group not on a horse he slung both over his shoulders as best he could and climbed into the saddle.

                “Ok, so is everyone ready?” Sasha made a point of addressing him directly so as to catch his nod. Over her shoulder Eren glared. He could feel Mikasa’s gaze digging into his back. “We’re going to go hunting today; the deer are good this time of year. Just remember not to shoot at anything that doesn’t have antlers. Those are the rules of the hunt. Do you know how to use a bow?”

                Before today he’d never touched one. “I think that I can figure it out on my own, Potato Girl.” Levi caught the reluctant snicker that Eren tried to conceal behind a cough. “Aim, pull, shoot. Not too complicated.” He’d taught himself the use of 3DM gear, so a stick and string couldn’t possibly be overly difficult to master.

                “Well, if that’s the case let’s get going. The sooner that we bag a deer or two the sooner we can get back here and eat.” Despite her thin build he was getting the distinct impression that Sasha had an unhealthy obsession with food. “We’ll head Eastward and see what we find. Try not to make too much noise.”              

                As they headed into the woods Levi found himself unable to prevent his eyes from drifting back to Eren. He’d pull them away. Try to focus on something else. But they’d always return without fail before too long. From his position behind and to the right of him he could only see the slope of his neck and curve of his jaw but the tightness that he saw there made it clear their conversation that morning had been neither forgotten nor forgiven. He didn’t know why that realization hurt so much. Or why for that matter that, after so long had passed without the brat trying to speak to or touch him, he’d begun to fidget uncontrollably. And then there was what Mikasa had said to him about Eren deserving better. That he’d be better off without him. That hurt too, but more than that it made him burn with an anger which though familiar hadn’t been felt in a long time. Not since Erwin had called him pathetic before walking away, leaving him standing there soaked in blood amongst the scattered pieces of his family and the Titan that had killed them.

                More than anything it made him want to prove her wrong.

                _What you want, or think that you want as the case may be, doesn’t matter. You’re a soldier. Your duty comes first._

                But hadn’t he already put duty first for long enough, and lost enough because of it. When did it stop? Didn’t he deserve the chance to, for once, be a little bit selfish.

                _You know that this is far more than ‘a little’ selfish._

                Was that really true?

                “Damn it Levi, are you going to take the shot or not?” Eren’s whispered hiss pulled him back down to earth and he blinked at the brunet in mild confusion. They were now stopped somewhere deep in the forest.

                “Shot?” he repeated. “At what?”

                “At the deer!” He looked in the direction Eren was pointing and noticed the six-point buck nibbling at the low hanging branches of a tree. “Well? Are you going to take it or should I?”

                “Give me a second, brat.” Aim. Pull. Fire. Simple. He didn’t need the brunet to do a damn thing for him. Pulling an arrow from the quiver he set it clumsily onto the string and pulled back on the string as far as it would go. _Jesus, this thing is heavy!_ When he let go the string brutally snapped against his wrist, making him drop the bow in a mix of pain and alarm. The arrow he’d fired flew off course and vanished into the darkness of the trees as the deer took off running.

                It hadn’t gotten more than a few steps before two arrows-one from Eren and the other from Sasha-slammed into it. The buck bellowed, stumbled and went crashing through the undergrowth away from them.

                “Come on! We’ve got to follow the blood trail!” Sasha bounded after their quarry with Mikasa not far behind.

                Before following the other two Eren took the time to turn in the saddle and inform him “your aim is absolute dog shit.” Yanking off the leather bracer he’d been wearing on his left hand he tossed it at him. “Put that on so the string doesn’t snap you anymore and catch up with us once you’ve retrieved that arrow.”

                “Retrieve…? Are you joking, brat?”

                “No. I’m not. You missed, not go salvage that arrow. Don’t leave it behind unless it isn’t usable.” He rode off without giving him the chance to protest further.

                Grumbling Levi briefly dismounted to pick up the bow that he’d dropped before reluctantly prodding his horse forwards into the trees in the direction that the arrow had flown. As his mount trotted forwards at an even plodding pace Levi couldn’t help but scan the trees around him for any signs of Titans. He hadn’t seen much of them since the day he’d been brought in half-conscious on the cart but that didn’t mean they weren’t around. And without a Shifter with him to call them off and no gear to speak of if one were to appear he had no illusion to the fact that he was about as good as dead.

                Thankfully he found no knocked over trees or massive footprints and soon caught sight of the arrow he’d fired imbedded in the trunk of a nearby tree about ten feet above his head. _Of fucking course. Even if I stand on the back of my horse I won’t be able to reach it._ Maybe joining the Shifters wouldn’t be so bad after all. A couple extra meters would definitely be to his advantage in helping to stop this sort of shit from happening. _I’m going to have to climb this fucking tree!_

                There were no branches low enough on the tree in which the arrow had lodged for him to grab so he’d have to climb another one nearby and jump. But Levi’s search for the best tree to utilize to this end was interrupted when he caught sight of a dark form crumbled on the ground about twenty feet away.

                _What the hell?_ Arrow momentarily forgotten he nudged his mount forwards cautiously to investigate the blotch of brown-black lying spread across the grass. Once close enough to discern precisely what it was Levi dismounted from the saddle and slowly approached the fallen Avian. _Is it dead?_ Blood was smeared across the grass alongside strewn feathers. The massive bird looked like it had been used as something’s chew toy; there were bloody gashes down its back and one of its wings was bent unnaturally at an odd angle. He knew, even without seeing the glint of white bone, that it was broken.

                _Her green eyes regarded the tiny sparrow in his hands with an almost comically exaggerated concern. Farlan, standing a ways away by the door, watched his face instead as he splinted the creature’s wing with surgical precision and delicate care._

_“Is he going to be alright, Big Bro?”_

_Levi wrapped the last piece of tape around the splint and smoothed it down. “He’ll be fine.” It came as a relief to release the creature back into her custody. Isabelle immediately rushed up the stairs to put it back into its box. Levi stared at his hands in mild disgust, trying not to focus too much on all the filthy places the little creature could have wound up in._

_Only once they could no longer hear the rapid footsteps of their newest house mate did Farlan move to sit across from him. Grey met grey and for a while neither spoke, then he said “she risked her life over a sparrow?”_

_Levi nodded and got to his feet, deciding that the only thing to do would be to thoroughly wash his hands. “She risked her life over a sparrow.”_

                The bird before him now was most definitely not a sparrow but some manner of raptor. Its beak was long curved and razor sharp and the talons on its feet were as long as his fingers. The question of whether or not the animal was dead when the bird of prey attempted to take a chunk out of his hand. Levi retreated from it and watched with pity as it thrashed about on the ground, beating its injured wing and shrieking but only succeeding in spinning itself in circles.

                With nothing else to use Levi pulled off his shirt and, after tearing off a few strips from the bottom, carefully edged forward towards the bird again. Between the snapping beak and scything talons he was well aware that the bird was capable of damage if not handled carefully, so he stopped just out of range of its efforts to claw at him and tossed the fabric over its head.

                The bird instantly went limp, ceasing its struggle and relaxing against the ground. Levi shrugged off the bow and quiver and pulled out an arrow, breaking off the head and tail and collecting the fabric strips before kneeling beside the animal. It flinched and squeaked when he gently pulled open its wounded wing but didn’t struggle. Levi carefully tied the splint into place before scooping up the Raptor’s wounded form-mindful of the talons which were now very near his face-and pulled himself back up onto the horse.

                He nearly collided with Eren’s horse about halfway to where he’d been ordered to meet up with them. Apparently he’d taken too long and the brat had come looking.

                “Did you get the arrow?” he demanded, only to notice the bird a moment later. “What is that?”

                “Hurt, brat, that’s what it is. The poor bastard has a broken wing; I found him on the ground.” He shifted the animal in his arms and nearly lost his grip when it squirmed. “Do you know what kind of bird this is? I don’t recognize it.”

                Eren’s expression had shifted into one of shock, but he snapped out of it at his question and nodded. “That’s a Golden Eagle, Levi. Araon’s servant. They’re sacred animals to my Clan.”

                “Well if that’s the case it’s a good thing I found it. With these wounds it would have died.”

                “Yeah, you’re right.” He said. “The others are almost done prepping the deer we took for transport and it’s getting late. I’ll let them know what happened and catch up with you. Head back to the village.”

                “Wait, brat! What are we going to do with it?”

                “Take it back with us. When he’s recovered we’ll release him.” He prodded his mount forward and rushed back in the direction that he’d come from. Levi frowned and headed towards the village as he’d been directed to. Eren and the others, dragging the gutted carcass behind their horses, emerged soon after. Sasha dismounted and bolted into a nearby building while the other two began untying their kill. Careful to avoid stepping in any of the blood Levi approached Eren.

                “Mind telling me what’s going on?”

                “Sasha is going to get a cage to put it in. Eagles can be aggressive so we can’t risk having it loose in the carriage.”

                “And what are we doing?”

                “Dinner.”

                It looked like the brunet still wasn’t planning on talking to him more than he had to. The dee had been freed and Mikasa was now in the process of dragging it away.

                “They’re cooking that?” he kept his gaze averted from the carcass’ blank stare.

                “What did you think we were hunting for? Sport?” Eren straightened his cloak and began to walk away. “Come on. There’s Sasha now.”

                Potato Girl had indeed scrambled back into view with a wooden bird cage in her hands. “Here. Sorry about that, it took a while to find it.”

                “Thank you, Sasha.” Eren took the cage, opened the door and turned towards him. “Just set him in here and then pull the shirt off of his head.”

                “I don’t know, brat. That cage looks a little small.”

                “Well, it’s what we have. We’ll get a bigger one back at the Capital.” Eren shoved the cage towards him. Levi shook his head but carefully maneuvered the raptor into the cage, removing the shirt from its head and quickly retracting his hand before it could bite him. The brunet latched the door and handed it back to Sasha. “Please take this to where Levi will be staying. From the fact that its wing is already splinted he seems both willing and able to care for it.”

                So the brat was going to drop this on him? He should have expected this.

                “Dinner won’t be ready for at least an hour.” The green eyes were on him and a cold commandment could be heard in his voice. “Go wash up and change. Meet us in the lodge when you’ve finished.”

                Eren left him there without another word. With nothing left to do but what he’d been told he trudged back to the carriage to pull fresh clothes from his bag and then went to wash the dirt and blood off of himself in a nearby river. The lodge was the largest building in the village and built in the center so it wasn’t difficult to find. By the time he reached it with clean clothes and damp hair dinner was almost ready, the cavernous interior filled with wood smoke and the smell of cooking meat.

                The entire Sylva Clan seemed to be there, crowding the low-standing tables scattered about the room, but he could still pick out familiar faces without too much difficulty. Sasha was on her knees beside the cooking fire in the center of the room, drooling as she watched the meat slowly roasting on metal spits. Eren was sitting at the head of the front most table with an empty seat, presumably for Levi, to his right. He was engaged in conversation with another Shifter who was sitting just to his left. A wild looking man with tawny eyes and matted black hair.

                The cold point of a sword came to rest just below the pulse point on his throat and Levi immediately froze. “I know who you’re looking at, I know that you recognize him and I know why.” The blade pressed into his flesh a little harder. Threatening the cut the skin. “I’m not going to have you causing trouble here, ‘Scout’.”

                “I won’t be causing trouble.” With the sword still where it was he didn’t dare to try and look behind him. Still talking, Eren was watching them through the corner of one eye. “Not unless that bastard who kidnapped me does first.”

                “Go sit.” Mikasa hissed, pushing him forward as she retracted the blade. “Behave.”

                “Decided to join us, have we Levi?” Eren drawled as he sat down beside him, removing his attention from his former conversation partner and propping his chin on his hand. “I was starting to think you might have drowned.”

                _I understand that I upset you, brat, but don’t you think you’re being petty._ Levi didn’t dignify the other’s behavior by responding. When it ultimately became clear he wouldn’t get any sort of reaction from him the focus of his interest shifted back to the other man and he resumed their conversation. Dinner passed mostly uneventfully. Eren talked to everyone but him in a clear effort to make a point and Levi only spoke when engaged by someone else. Once he’d finished and was sure that he wouldn’t be prevented from leaving by either the brunet or his increasingly hostile guard Levi excused himself and headed back to the room he’d been given.

                The eagle stared expectantly at him from behind the bars of its cage, beady yellow eyes focused on him as he moved to sit down on the edge of his bed.

                “You need something, bird brain?”

                The raptor whistled at him and clicked its beak.

                “You’re hungry, aren’t you?” how long had it been lying there on the ground before he’d found it? How long had it been since it had last eaten? What did birds even eat anyway?

                _“Isabelle, put that disgusting thing down this instant! What the hell are you even doing playing around in the mud anyway?”_

_Farland was too busy trying to remain upright through a bout of laughter to back him up. Isabelle just grinned at him and held up a handful of squirming dark pink worms._

_“If his wing is going to heal we have to feed him Big Bro!”_

                Even after he’d left the building and located a rock he was strong enough to move it still took almost an hour’s worth of internal pep talks before finally working up the courage to lift it and resign himself to digging through the mud with his bare hands.

                “Uh…Levi...what are you doing?” The Prince was staring at him as if he’d lost his mind. Given his absolute aversion to filth the brunet probably thought he had. “Are…Are you ok?”

                “I’m fine. I’m trying to get something to give to that damn bird so it doesn’t starve to death!” He barely spared a thought to the bow and quiver Eren still held and went back to digging.

                “…And you expected to find it under a rock?”

                “Worms, shit head.”

                “Levi, eagles don’t eat worms. They eat meat.”

                So he’d gotten himself covered in mud for nothing? Great. “Is there any venison left over from dinner then?”

                “That wouldn’t be a good idea either.”

                “Then what the hell do you suggest I give it?”

                “Hmm. There should be something around here.” He glanced around for a while and then seemed to spot something in the dark. Knocking an arrow he fired it, then walked a short distance to the forest’s edge and lifted it. To Levi’s disgust hanging from the end was a dead squirrel. “Just toss this in the cage. He’ll do the rest.” After handing the arrow over to Levi he immediately turned to walk away.

                “Eren.” No reaction. “Damn it brat, we need to talk!”

                The brunet stopped but didn’t turn. “No. We don’t.”

                “I disagree.”

                “Goodnight, Levi.” He started walking again.

                “I could have told you what you wanted to hear, Eren! I could have kept on the way that I had been but I didn’t! Because that would be a lie!”

                “If you really care about someone you’re _supposed_ to tell them what they want to hear! Isn’t that what a relationship is?”

                “Erwin told me he wasn’t sleeping with Mike because that was what I wanted to hear, but that didn’t make it true Shit Head!” It was almost pitch black and Eren was facing away from him but Levi could have sworn he saw him flinch. “Being in a relationship with someone means that you’re _honest_ with them. Which is what I tried to do with you. In the future I won’t be making that mistake, because all it did was come back to bite me in the ass!”

                Now it was his turn to storm away into the darkness. Whether Eren tried to stop him or not, he neither noticed nor cared.


	9. Choice Without Regret

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It didn't matter if it was the right choice. It only mattered if it was the choice he wouldn't come to regret.

 

                Once again Eren sat across from him beside his guard, though this seemed to be less motivated by continued anger and more out of fear that Levi was still angry with him. The trees had fallen away about two hours prior as they’d started up the side of a mountain and snowflakes drifted slowly by outside the window. The wooden cage sat beside him where the Prince had once been sitting; he’d removed his hands from the vicinity of it after mistakenly allowing his fingers to stray within range of the occupant. The blood had since dried.

                “I’m sorry.” Both Levi and Mikasa looked over in surprise. Eren’s green eyes were appropriately repentant. Beside him, to Levi’s amusement, his guard looked as if someone had force fed her a lemon. “Last night. What you said. You’re right. Maybe I expected too much from you and for that I apologize.”

                “You’re a crazy bastard, Eren, and you have issues both with your temper and your patience. Or, rather, lack of patience.” Narrow grey eyes met downcast teal ones. “That having been said I suppose that I have to forgive you, given that you wished for that on a couple hundred stars.”

                Eren beamed at him and Levi allowed himself to reflect a small mile of his own. “You really mean that?”

                “Yes, Titan Brat. I really mean that.” The brunet fidgeted. “What now? You need to shit or something?”

                “Can I…sit by you again?”

                “Ask him, not me.” He gestured to the eagle in the cage while holding up his wounded finger. The brunet picked up the cage, much to the bird’s loudly vocalized displeasure, and switched places with it. He brushed the raven’s hand with his own and, when Levi didn’t react to pull away, rested his head on his chest. “It’s damn obvious you’re desperate when you have to fold yourself in half to be able to do that.” Eren hummed and snuggled deeper into his shirt. Levi sighed and let him be, setting his uninjured hand in his hair.

                He was almost disappointed when the carriage ride came to an end. Mikasa couldn’t get them out, and apart, quickly enough and the fact that she positioned herself between them did not go unnoticed by him. Annoyed but confident that Eren would not tolerate this for long he allowed his focus to shift to their surroundings. The village of the Equos Clan had been carved directly into the side of the mountain, the buildings all seeming to have sprung up from single pieces of stone rather than being built from bricks. Snow fell thickly, coating the ground rooftops and the bows of the sparse trees in a layer of silvery white which was inches deep and the temperature was bitterly cold.

                “Oh,” Eren’s tone was edged with a wicked mischief that made Levi’s skin prickle, “look who it is Mikasa. It seems like Jean got himself assigned as our guide while we’re here.”

                Levi raised an eyebrow as Mikasa went deadly still, seeming to sense intentions that he couldn’t read. “Prince, please-!”

                “Hey, Horse Face, over here!” She shot him a look of absolute betrayal as he struggled to swallow rampant giggles. Moments later an ashe blonde with an almost abnormally long face had come to a stop in front of them, his tawny eyes riveted on the ravenette and seemingly blind to the other two.

                “Oh, Mikasa,” he said. “Your hair is beautiful today. Not that it isn’t always, but-.”

                “Yes, hello Jean.” Mikasa didn’t sound thrilled to have him there.

                “Well you two have fun together. Levi and I,” he grabbed hold of his wrist, “are going to go do our own thing. Bye!” Eren bolted, pulling him with him out of the village and onto what he soon realized was an all but buried hiking path.

                “Oi, brat, you want to tell me what the hell just happened?”

                “Oh, that? That was Jean ‘Horse Face’ Kirstein; he’s in training to join the royal guard and has a huge thing for Mikasa.” He slowed their pace but didn’t release him. Had it not been for the delicious warmth his companion produced Levi might have pulled away from him, but where his hand remained warm the rest of him was being mauled by the winter chill. “I hate him. He’s a bastard. And she finds him annoying to, but I figure even he has a use from time to time.”

                “And that would be?”

                “A distraction. I’m sick of her cock blocking.” He nearly choked on spit then shivered violently as a particularly ruthless gust tore through his thin clothing. “Levi, are you alright? You’re shaking and your face is bright red.”

                “Considering that your core temperature must run somewhere just above boiling point I’m not surprised you don’t notice that it’s fucking cold as balls out here!”

                “Shit, I’m sorry. I didn’t think about grabbing a coat from the carriage-I even brought one in your size because I knew it would be like this up here this time of year-when we ran off. You should have said something before.”

                “I’m fine, Eren.” The snow and ice made it impossible to stand his ground and the next thing he knew he’d been pulled into the other’s arms. “Ah! Brat, what the hell! Let go of me!”

                “No. I’m warming you up.”         

                “Eren!”

                “I don’t want you to get sick because of me.” The warmth did feel incredible and his tall frame was a perfect windbreak. Levi relented with a sigh and pressed his face into Eren’s chest, allowing heat to return to his frozen cheeks. Only once the wind had died down a bit and the smaller body in his arms had stopped shaking did he release him and take his hand again. “Just let me know when you get cold again.”

                “I’ll be sure to do that, brat.” They started walking again. “Where are we going?”

                “There’s a lookout point up this path that’s amazing and I want you to see the view. It isn’t far now.”

                As he spoke they crested one of the mountain’s smaller peaks and the world fell away below them. 360 degrees and miles around the earth gave way into sheer faces of black rock and white snow that reflected the sun like blinding mirrors. Even without the accompanying view the steepness of the chasms alone was impressive and even at the crest of the walls he’d never been this high up off the ground before.

                “Well? What do you think?”       

                “I think that you should get your pretty little ass the hell away from that ice covered edge _before_ you plummet to your death!” Levi informed him starkly as he retreated to what he deemed a safe distance.

                “Calm down, Levi. It’s perfectly safe.”

                “If you have wings, maybe!”

                Eren chuckled and shook his head but moved a few meters back to lay some of his anxiety to rest. The view was still breathtaking even if it was no longer quite so wide and both gazed out at it for a while longer before Levi’s attention fell to the snow under his feet. Maybe ten meters separated him from a completely unsuspecting Eren and the frigid fluff was appropriately damp for his purposes.

                “Eren, want to see something interesting?” the brunet turned, just as he’d known he would, and he launched the projectile in his hand. It made contact with the middle of his forehead and exploded into a harmless, if disorienting, cloud of white. By the time Eren had cleared his vision Levi had already reloaded and the brunet once again received a face full of snow.

                “Ack! Levi!”

                “Come on, Yeager! Arm yourself!” He made contact with a third snowball. “Haven’t you ever been in a snowball fight before?”

                “Oh, you’re so in for it now Levi! I’m going to bury you in snow!”

                He may have made a slight miscalculation in challenging the brunet and seconds later was on the run, dodging best he could as Eren launched poorly shaped but deadly accurate snowballs after him two at a time.

                “Come on Levi, stop running and- _oof!”_

“Stop running? Is that what you said?” Levi smirked, ducking beneath a badly aimed through as Eren used his other hand to clear his vision. “I think it would be better for your chances, Yeager, if I didn’t.”

                The pair traded cold powder and mild barbs for two or three more hours. Trampling the snow flat as they darted leapt and rolled through it. Eren’s eyebrows were crusted in ice and Levi, soaked and panting on air that cut like knives, couldn’t remember the last time he’d actually had fun. Of course all good things had to come to an end.

                “What is going on here?” Mikasa and her Horse Faced shadow had come up the path and stumbled on their little game. Both Levi and Eren had been in the process of lobbing winter grenades at each other when their attention was diverted and both made contact with tiny popping sounds. The raven and brunet exchanged a quick glance and, after meeting with a mutual intention, bent in lee of answering.

                “Fire! Fire! Fire!” Both Eren’s shot and Levi’s made contact, one hitting Mikasa’s shoulder and the other exploding in Jean’s face. They got in maybe two more shots before their opponents took up arms and returned fire. Snow balls flew across the field of battle only to miss or be dodged until a curve ball from Jean slammed into his chest and knocked him over. “Yeager, I’m hit! Man down!”

                “Levi! I’ll-ack!”

                “Enough. It’s only going to get colder out here the closer that it gets to dark and we still have a ways to walk before we get back to the village.” Mikasa’s tone was firm. “We need to get both of you in front of a fire before you turn into snowmen.”

                “Tch. This brat is about as likely to freeze as a blowtorch is. As for me, I’m fine.”

                “Ackerman, are you aware that you’re starting to turn blue?”

                “Oh God’s Levi, she’s right.” Eren looked torn between being concerned and laughing his ass off as he reached for his hand. Levi flinched at the warmth that had suddenly become painful. “We should head in before you risk frost bite.”

                Once it was pointed out to him Levi found himself unable to ignore just how cold he really was and, without giving it much thought, pressed himself against the equally wet but much warmer body beside him. Eren released his hand in favor of dropping an arm over his shoulder to keep him there. Eren ended up having to carry him part of the way back to the village.

                “I thought you’d agreed to tell me if you got cold again.”              

                “And?”

                “And I figured I didn’t have to voice the expectation that you’d do it before you developed muscle cramps in your legs that made it impossible to walk down the mountain.”

                “If I told you that by the time I figured out I was that cold it was already too late, would you believe me?” the brunet rolled his eyes and sat back against his hands as Levi stretched his legs out in front of him. They were currently positioned on a pelt rug in front of a blazing fire, slowly defrosting as their hair and clothing dried.

                “Hey.” The raven glanced up at the other’s voice in time to barely avoid being clocked over the head with a bottle. “It’ll warm you up a little faster. Split that; dinner will be out soon.”

                Levi turned the bottle in his hands, examining it and the orange liquid inside closely. “Is this scotch, Horse Face?”

                The only sign that the nickname wasn’t appreciated was a slight twitch in one of the small muscles of his face. “Blue label. Only the best for the Prince and his betrothed.” He said. “Do they not have that where you’re from?”

                “They do.” The glass was cool, smooth and slightly dusty. The bottle heavy, filled the brim and stoppered up with red wax. “But it costs a couple pounds of flesh to get a bottle a tenth this size.”

                “A gift to the royal family. Enjoy.”

                Eren pulled the bottle from his hands and yanked out the cork. “You first.”

                He stared for a moment before accepting it back. “Sure, brat. Any cups?”

                The brunet smirked. “Just drink out of the bottle, Levi.”

                “The bottle?”

                “Yes. The bottle. Do I need to demonstrate?”

                “No, shit head. I can figure out how to tilt and swallow on my own.”

                “Really?” Eren suddenly sounded way too interested. “Do you normally top or bottom?” the raven sprayed down the fire while the brunet burst into rollicking laughter.

                By the time dinner was finished just over two thirds of the bottle was gone. The combined warmth of the fire and scotch had successfully run off the cold, his vision was overlain with a thin haze and he was too far gone to really give a damn that Eren was practically sitting on him.

                “Fuck.” It came as a relief, at least as far as his mildly drunk ass could tell, that he wasn’t slurring his words. “I need to stop drinking before I wind up with a headache in the morning.”

                “Mmh.” Eren took another swig of the whiskey and smirked up at him. “Are you going to bed already? We haven’t even finished the bottle yet.”

                “I already told you, I don’t want to wind up with a hangover.” Levi shimmied out from beneath the brunet, who simply flopped down onto his back on the rug, and got to his feet. The green eyes remained on him until he’d left the house where they’d been sitting to make his way to the smaller building where he’d been put up for the night. Despite the cold and dark of the night outside between the haze of alcohol and the fire which was burning low in the stone hearth the bedroom was left almost uncomfortably warm. He stripped down to his boxers and set his neatly folded clothes beside the bed before crawling into the mattress and kicking most of the covers off of him.

                By the time the low creak of a floorboard disturbed him the fire had gone out. In a state of half-sleep he merely wrote this and the slight depression of the mattress off as little more than the remnants of a dream and tried to get back to sleep. Hair tickled his bare shoulder as something warm lightly pressed into his skin. Levi twitched in an effort to shake it off only to have whatever it was come back. He tried again. Same result. Annoyed, he opened his eyes and went to sit up only to come face to face with “Eren?” Even in total darkness it was obvious who it was. “Brat, what the hell are you doing?”

                “If you want me to stop, Levi, tell me. I’ll stop.” His voice was quiet. Eyes glowing a few shades closer to yellow in the gloom. “But if you don’t stop me I’m going to keep going.”

                He stared at him in silence, still frozen, and Eren stared back. He could clearly see the intentions in his eyes. All it would take was one word and he’d leave him be. One word and it would be over between them.

                _It’s time to make your choice._

                When he didn’t respond quickly enough Eren made a move to push him to react. His hand slid across his body in a feather light touch, coming to rest on the mattress beside his hip. Staring at him. Waiting.

                _It doesn’t even matter if it’s the right choice or not._ He relaxed back against the mattress underneath him, taking in the honest surprise that flashed through the other’s eyes as he tilted his head back. _All that matters is that it’s the choice I won’t regret._

                The brunet recovered with admirable speed and was quick to take advantage of the easy excess to his neck. Soft brown tresses brushed against his cheek as lips explored the curve of his throat. Eren held himself over him with his right hand and twined his left with Levi’s, pressing their chests together while taking care not to put any weight on the raven below him. He was all too thrilled to finally get the chance to make his mark; Levi hissed as blood welled against his skin.

                “Watch it, brat!”

                Eren laughed, licked away the blood and then ran his tongue along the divots in his collar bone. “I could be gentle.” Sharp nips and open mouthed kisses trailed slowly over his chest and stomach. “But you strike me as the type of person who can not only take a little rough treatment, but prefers it.” He grinned at him, beginning to toy with his waistband with one finger. “You don’t need to say anything on the matter, darling. I already know that it’s the truth.”

                “If it weren’t I doubt I’d still be alive.”

                “No,” seemingly having had enough of fiddling with the fabric he pulled it down with a twitch of the wrist. “I’d suppose you wouldn’t be. And that, for me, would be a crying shame.” Eren rested his cheek against his thigh but made no further move. Just kept staring at him with that damn smirk on his face.

                “What the hell are you waiting for, written permission to suck me off? Or are you just savoring your victory?”

                He squirmed when Eren’s warm breath fanned across his skin. “Neither.” He said, still smirking. “I was just thinking.”

                “What the shitting hell could you possibly be thinking about at a time like this?”

                “Not much of anything, really.” If this kept up much longer Levi was almost certain he would strangle him. “Just that, when you-being a Scout-imagined your almost inevitable fate of being devoured by a Titan I highly doubt this is what came to mind.”

                The brunet acted before he could voice a retort, so rather than reply he shoved his fist into his mouth to keep quiet. Blood ran down along his second knuckle from where one of his teeth had broken the skin. Eren immediately sat up and reached for his wrist.

                “Now now Levi, don’t be hasty. You’re not one of us yet so biting yourself won’t get you anything but hurt.” He was a great deal stronger than he looked and easily pulled his arm back to his side. “Not to mention there’s no one around to overhear. Don’t try and keep quiet. I want to hear you.”

                “Anyone ever tell you that you’re a demanding little shit?” He hissed as Eren released him.

                “You know, I’ve never done this before. I need to know if I’m doing it right.” He dragged his tongue along his length and the body below him twitched. His grin twisted more at the sound of the slight whine the raven made. “Oh yes, I like that sound. Of course, it could do with being a little bit louder.”

                He let go of his hand as he went down again and hummed. Levi clutched fistfuls of the sheets and arched his back, resisting the urge to thrust further into Eren’s throat by sheer force of will.

                _Never done this before? Give the control he has over his gag reflex I highly doubt that._ Eren’s grip tightened on his hips and he dragged him closer at the same moment as he delivered a particularly sharp suck. He broke. Eren pulled back. Locked eyes with him and slowly slid three fingers into his mouth. One at a time. Liberally coating them before swallowing what was left. _This little shit knows exactly what he’s doing!_

                Eren moved in on him again, tracing back up his chest and neck and finally capturing his lips. Plundering his mouth in an effort to distract his attention as he gently stretched the ring of muscle. When he broke the kiss to let the other man breathe his lips curled upwards again.

                “It’s been a while. I can tell.” His tone was much too self-satisfied for his liking.

                “So what if it has? How would you know; I thought you said you’ve never done this before.”

                He only caught a brief glimpse of his smile as he bent forwards again, nuzzling into his cheek and nibbling his ears as he positioned himself. Tears pricked at the corners of his eyes as he was stretched, nails cutting into the skin of the brunet’s back. “I’m sorry. I’m hurting you.”

                “I’m not a fucking virgin, Eren. Move!”

                He slid in up to the hilt and then pushed deeper. Falling into a rhythm quickly as he continued spattering kisses kicks and nips along his face neck and collar bone and the pain lessened. Then disappeared. Sweat ran down their bodies and soaked the sheets beneath them, sticking their chests together as he arched against him. The head board fell back against the stone wall with a steady dull clank. Levi wrapped his legs around the other’s narrow wrist, locking his ankles at the small of his back to pull him closer as Eren’s mouth again found his to swallow his moans.

                Heat spilled into his body and between their forms as Eren shuddered, then went lax and pulled himself free. Between the afterglow and the alcohol he almost didn’t register it when he said “goodnight, Levi” and made to leave.

                “Eren.” He stopped and looked back when Levi’s hand caught his wrist. “Stay. Please.”

                Eren just looked at him for a moment without responding before settling down beside him. Now that the fire had gone out completely the cold from outside had begun to creep in so it felt good when he was pulled into the brunet’s arms. He buried his face in Levi’s hair and closed his eyes. “I love you, Levi.”

                “I love you to, shitty brat.”

                He felt Eren go stiff beside him, then relax again. “So you’ll stay?”

                Levi sighed and then nodded into the brunet’s chest. “I’m not going anywhere.”


	10. Beautiful and Cruel

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> College move in day is so stressful. Please enjoy and comment to make my life a little easier >.  
> Accidental double post fixed

                The only sounds in the carriage were the trundling of the wheels below them and the occasional muffled exchange of words by the members of their guard outside. From time to time the eagle would shuffle its wings or rotate in its tiny cage. Mikasa was staring passed him at the opposite wall, expression set into something dark and almost haunted, but Levi paid this little mind. He kept his eyes on the window as Eren drowsed happily in his lap. Up until that point he’d been relatively lost in his own head-thinking over both what he’d have to come to terms with losing and wondering what might lay ahead of him now that he’d absolved to stay-but was suddenly pulled from his musings by the sight of something strange.

                Distantly at the base of the mountain some 300 feet below the road on which they traveled and buried beneath feet of snow he could just make out a series of abstract shapes that were only barely recognizable as anything man-made. The ravenette was watching him now with an expression so guarded it had become unreadable. Almost as if she knew he had noticed and wanted to see what it was that he would do. Gently, Levi nudged Eren awake and green eyes were soon peering blearily up at him.

                “Eren,” he gestured to the window, “do you know what that is down there?”

                “What what is?” pushing himself upright the brunet looked towards the window and immediately turned pale. “O-Oh, we went this way? What are the guard thinking? Are they insane?”

                “Brat. Explain.”

                “I…it’s…that’s…” his eyes flashed to Mikasa who was now no longer looking at them but clearly hanging off every word. “It’s nothing.”

                “I’m not about to swallow that bull-!”

                “They’re ruins.” Eren cringed when she spoke and it was immediately clear their conversation had crossed into dangerous waters. “The ruins of the village where the Caecus Clan used to live. Yra was its patron.”

                “Used to?” the brunet was tugging urgently on his arm and shaking his head but Levi pushed him away. “Where do they live now?”

                “They don’t.” He recognized the look in her eyes the moment he saw it. It was the same look that he’d had for months on end after Isabelle and Farlan had been killed on their first expedition beyond the walls. “My clan is dead.”

                “M-Mikasa,” the strangled squeak Eren had produced startled him. “You don’t need to do this.”

                “You’ve heard by now of the ‘time the Adherents proved themselves capable of murder and destruction’ I’m sure?” he nodded. “It happened about 200 years before the Prince was born. The snake worshipers crawled out of their swamp looking to do harm. Though the Equos were closer their mountain presented too much of a barrier to their advance, so they turned their eyes to my people instead. Murdered everyone, including my parents, and destroyed our homes. I was still only a child then. I couldn’t stop them.” Her voice wavered and her hands clenched in her lap but she refused to allow her gaze to drop from his. “If Lord Grisha and the Acies Clan hadn’t come when they did I would have died too. They rescued me and drove those animals back into their hole. I had no Clan left, so they took me in. And I devoted myself to their service by joining the guard the moment that I was able.”

                In the wake of her story Eren seemed to have developed a sudden vested interest in studying the floor.

                “I can respect what you’ve been through.” Levi said slowly after a long few minutes of silence. “As a man who has seen a lot of people die and ordered more than a few of them to their deaths I know all too well the feeling of being helpless to save lives. But it doesn’t get worse than being a child and having to watch your parents die.”

                “What would you possibly know about that, Ackerman?” rather than flinching at her snarl he chuckled darkly.

                “When you said I wasn’t to be a King you were right. At least in terms of bloodline. Ask anyone who knows me, anyone who has ever met or spoken to me even once, and more than 90% of them will tell you I’m a bastard. Less than 1% will know they’re right.” Her full attention was once again on him, annoyance warring with wariness at his tone. “My mother’s name was Kuchel, and she was a woman engaged in the oldest profession. My father,” his lips pressed into a thin line, “could have been anything from a serial murderer to the King of the fucking walls fir all that I know. He fucked my mother and then fucked off without giving it the time to realize he had a son, let alone lift a finger to care for me. And though she did the best she could for me the underground was an unforgiving place and the job of a single mother was a hard one. Even more so when more often than not putting food in my mouth meant going hungry herself. I was around eight, I think.” He paused and shook his head. “I was eight when I watched my mother, withered away to little more than a skeleton, die in her bed. Alone I stayed in that house, the place where I had been born, and I’d have died there too had it not been for my Uncle.”

                “He cared for you?”

                “Cared for me? No. He turned me into a weapon to further his ends, and when my use had been fulfilled he abandoned me to. Left me to make my own way in the life of a criminal as best that I could. But even in the underground you can’t escape from the law forever.” That laugh again. “Erwin Smith was ‘kind’ enough to give me a choice between a life in the military or a life in a cage. I chose my token freedom, and wound up once again as little more than a weapon in furthering another’s machinations.”

                Eren’s arms wound around him and drew him in. “That’s over now.” His words rumbled in his chest. “You’re free of them now. I won’t ever let anyone use you as a weapon again.”

                Levi reached up a hand to soothe Eren as he continued to cling to him. “The sentiment is appreciated but heir to the throne though you may be you may not be able to make that choice.” Though he relaxed under his touch Levi could still feel the tension coiled in his muscles. “You told me before that I’d want a piece, and a sizeable one at that, out of the Adherent Thumping pie once I knew the truth about them. Well, now I know what they’ve done. But I still don’t fully know what they are.”

                “I would have thought that Armin would have told you that story by now, Ackerman.”

                “At the time I wasn’t overly concerned by tales of that nature. I hadn’t intended to stay before last night.” He growled. “Care to resolve that fact?”

                Mikasa and Eren exchanged a brief glance. “Are you going to tell it or should I?”

                Mikasa sighed. “I’ll tell him, Prince. You always embellish it too much.”

                Eren pouted and mumbled what sounded like “do not!” though Levi couldn’t be completely sure. He looked expectantly at the woman across from him.

                “Those who call themselves the ‘Adherents of Leamai’ didn’t always subscribe to the whims of a false God.” She said slowly. “The battle between our people and yours had just come to an end with Humanity’s defeat and the contingent that the walls would be built as an ark to shelter the few survivors had sparked unrest amidst the ranks. There were those amongst every Clan who wanted to see your ancestors culled for what they had done to them but the majority of the Empire did not agree. Rather than fall back into line, as they should have, they rebelled and tried to prevent the walls from ever being built at all. Before long the feud became a full-fledged civil war. Though battle wary from the conflict that had only just come to a close the Empire again went to war and before long the rebels were put down. Knowing that they couldn’t be trusted to integrate back into normal life the then King banished them all to the swamps of the Lost Lands. And it was there that Leamai took full advantage of their perceived betrayal.”

                Eren stretched slightly and then draped himself back across Levi’s lap.

                “Make no mistake that should they ever be allowed to escape their swamp again the Empire won’t be the only Kingdom to pay the price, and your precious walls won’t be capable of weathering such a storm. They never forgot their hatred for your kin.”

                “They won’t escape their swamp again.” It images of the walls falling or innocents dying that lit him up with fury, but the reoccurring image from his dream of Eren lying dead amidst the castle’s scattered remnants. “I’ll kill every last one of them before their have the chance. Worship death and destruction, do they? Well, he’s come for them.”

                “I knew it.” His voice was only somewhat shaky. “Levi will save us for sure; he’s a warrior that even the Adherents will learn to fear. The King that will finally deliver us from under their shadow.”

                “I’m no hero Eren, but I can promise you this much: I’ll fight to the death before I allow anyone to hurt you.”

                Eren was perfectly content to remain right where he was for the remainder of the trip and Levi was prepared to allow him with only the occasional disturbance to prevent himself from losing the blood supply to his legs. The day aged as they traveled and soon darkness fell. By the time that they finally made it back to the castle it was well passed dinner much to the dissatisfaction of the Prince and his growling stomach.

                “Ugh.” Eren dismounted the carriage steps and stumbled, catching himself against the raven’s shoulder and nearly taking them both to the ground. “Nothing like a full day of non-stop travel to wipe you out.”

                “I was a Scout, brat, so I’m used to it. We were in a state of near constant travel in order to be able to do our jobs.” He shifted the cage in his hands to get a better grip.

                The carriage door clicked as Mikasa pushed it closed. “I’m sure that you’re both tired and hungry and want nothing more than to head to the kitchens and then to bed but you should briefly check in with the King and Queen first.”

                Eren sighed. “Yeah, you’re right. I guess they’d want to hear from us.”

                The pair left her with the rest of the guard to see to the carriage and the horses that had been pulling it and headed inside. Eren’s mother was nowhere to be seen but Grisha was in the throne room in the process of addressing the royal adviser in harsh tones. He fell silent immediately on catching sight of them.

                “Eren. Levi. You’ve returned. I take it that your trip went well?”

                “Well?” the brunet grabbed him from behind, nearly making him drop the cage. “It went better than ‘well’, Dad. The last little issues standing between us have been taken care of.”

                He tried to smile but the expression didn’t reach his eyes. His face remained drawn and lined with worry. “That’s great news, Eren. Your mother will be thrilled to know that he is staying with us.” He said. “Now, I’m sure you boys are both exhausted. Grab something from the kitchens and head to bed.”

                “Good idea.” Eren’s grip moved from Levi’s shoulder to his arm. “Let’s grab a bite before I pass out.” He tried to pull him out of the throne room but he held his ground, gaze locked on the King.

                “All due respect, what happened?”

                Grisha started and then went very still. “I’m not sure what you mean.”

                _Don’t try and pull that shit with me! I’m not the brat and I’m not an idiot!_ Levi ignored Eren’s continued tugs. “I was a soldier before I came here and I’ve seen that look before. On the face of my Commanding officer. He’d wear it whenever an expedition would go horribly array. Whenever we’d lose more people than we should have so I’ll ask again,” his grey eyes gleamed in the low burning torchlight, “what happened?”

                The advisor took a step forward, gaze unfriendly and locked on the raven who refused to back down. “My Lord, if I could-?”

                “No! We’ve already been over this!” The other Shifter immediately retreated. “What has happened is a matter of my concern, not either of yours. At least, not yet.”

                _I don’t understand. Aren’t they a Clan of warriors? What good could possibly come of trying to shelter your successor from the truth if a war is really on the horizon._ Levi relaxed the set of his jaw and straightened up from the hostile position he’d assumed without really meaning to. “I apologize. Though I disagree with the sentiment I respect your judgement.”

                “I appreciate that, Levi. A time will come when we will need to bring your great skill to bare, I just pray to the Gods that that time will not be soon.”

                “In my experience crazies don’t give a shit whether you’re ready for them to show up or not. They just do.” He’d had to replace his office door a couple times too many on account of a certain brown-haired mad woman so he figured that he had at least some knowledge into the behavior of the insane.

                “Levi!” Eren whined. “Come on! I’m hungry!”

                “Alright, brat. Lead the way.”

                He practically dragged him down into the kitchens before taking a flying leap into the larder.

                “What would you like, Levi? I can make something for us; I’m not the best cook in the world but it’ll be edible. Or I can warm up some of the meat in the ice chest. Or-.”

                “Just bread is fine, brat.” He hoisted himself up off the ground to perch instead on the counter top and picked up a roll.

                “Bread?” he turned back in disbelief. “Nothing else? No cheese? No meat? No fruit? Just bread?”

                “Old habit. And a simple thing to do.” He ripped off a chunk of the roll with his teeth. “It’s too damn late to bother with anything complicated.” Eren watched him tear off another chunk and swallowed hard. “Fucking hell brat, don’t tell me that watching me eat bread really turns you on!”

                “You turn me on, it doesn’t matter what you’re doing.”

                “Your pickup lines are piss awful.”

                “As bad as your aim with a bow?” Eren smirked.

                “Worse.” Levi brushed the crumbs off of his hands. “Come here.” Eren bounded eagerly towards him and once he was close enough Levi pulled him forwards by the front of his shirt. The kiss was chaste by comparison to the night before but lasted the span of a few breaths before Eren released him. “I know what you’re thinking and the answer is no. Doing anything of the sort within 100 feet of where food is prepared is unsanitary.”

                “Come sleep with me tonight.”

                “No, Eren. Brat’s need their sleep and I’m clearly too much of a distraction to be in your bed.” He gently pushed him away to give himself space to slide down off the counter. “Besides, if that guard of yours finds us in the same bed before the Ascension again I’d really rather not see what she’d do.”

                Eren sighed but nodded. “You’re right Levi. It’s just…hard to wait.”

                “They say it’s worth it. Whoever ‘they’ are.” He said. “Goodnight, Eren.”

                “Goodnight, Levi.”

                It would be cold in his bed without him. He made the trek back to his room with only the eagle for company and set the cage on a shelf once he’d gotten inside.

                “I’ll try and get you a bit of a bigger cage in the morning. I figure you must feel cramped in there.” The eagle chirred at him and shuffled against the bars. “Bear with it a while longer. As soon as your wing is healed you’re free to go.” Levi changed into clean clothes for sleep then crawled into bed. His hand made contact with something hard underneath the pillows. He drew back and pulled it free, grip folding around the edges of the age-worn edges. _The maps._

                He sat up and flipped it open. Tracing his fingers over the smooth parchment but unable to see anything through the gloom. He got up and moved closer to the fire. Flipping through page after page by its orange glow. The Empire and its sub territories. The Lost Lands. The forest of giant trees. The walls.

                Sparks flew from the hearth as he tossed the book into the flames, settling into the fibers of the rug and glowing briefly before going out. He stood in front of the fire and watched it leap and crackle until the book had fallen away to ashes.

           


	11. Snake in the Grass

                He would have preferred to have another cage as the eagle had already taken a snap at him and drawn blood but what sat outside his door the next morning was a golden bird perch. He’d have to get the creature out of there before it could fly again lest it make a mess-though so far it had proved itself to be surprisingly clean-or make an effort to attack him but for now the bird was happy just to perch there and occasionally send him a sidelong stare.

                “I’m not putting you back in that cage, so don’t even start.” He grumbled at it while checking the range of movement in his gauntlets. “I’m going to go and train. Don’t make a mess.”

                The mid-morning sun hung in an overcast sky. The air held the nip of a mild winter’s approach and the grass of the green was still wet with dew. He hadn’t even been out for more than five minutes before a voice called out to him.

                “Hey, Levi.”

                It wasn’t one that he recognized. Levi turned and quickly caught sight of a member of the guard approaching from off to his left.

                “So you’re the human who won the Halgrind? I have to say that I didn’t believe it until I saw you, but here you are.”

                The hairs on the back of his neck rose as instinct began to command him that he should not allow himself to lose sight of the newcomer though why he’d subconsciously perceived him as a threat he wasn’t sure. “Here I am.” He pushed aside the agitation and resumed what he’d been doing.

                “You’ve been doing nothing but working on form?”

                “And?”

                “Need a sparring partner?”

                “No.”

                “It would build your skill much faster.”

                Annoyance had punctured the drive to be wary. “I said no. I don’t need any help.”

                “I insist.” Cold dread flashed through him when the guard drew his blade. Again Levi quickly brought these thoughts to heel but his eyes refused to leave the weapon’s tempered point. “Besides, I want the chance to see if the rumors about you actually have any truth. Whether you’re really touched by the War God or just really lucky.”

                It was clear now that he wouldn’t be left alone until he consented. _In a way this annoying fuck is a lot like Eren._ He raised the weapons in his hands up into a fighting pose. “Fine. Once I’ve knocked you flat on your ass you’re going to leave me alone?”

                Levi did not like the serpent smile he was shown. “Of course. I’ll have no reason to continue fighting with you once I’m finished here.”

                Blades clashed with a loud clatter, scattering bluish sparks between them as the raven darted in with a vicious lunge. The guard was experienced, a fact he hadn’t given him proper credit for at first, and rebuffed his strike. Breaking his parry with strength far in excess of what a human like him was capable of. But being smaller had its advantages; the other’s blade missed its mark and cut into the ground.

                _What the hell is this bastard trying to do?_ Levi took advantage of the opening presented by the stuck sword and moved in to end the duel. _Kill me?_

                Had he not noticed the glint of sun against steel his death would have been the result regardless of the other’s intentions. Levi jerked back and lost his balance, landing hard on his back with a curse. Blood coursed hot and wet over the hand he held pressed against the burning gash where the knife had bitten into the flesh of his right side just above the hip. The guard yanked his larger weapon free and bore down on him.

                Another loud clash of metal and the weapon flew out his hands. Mikasa was between them, eyes flinty and black hair gleaming in the sun as the point of his blade rested against the hollow of his aggressor’s throat.

                “Guard Captain-!”

                “What, exactly, did you think that you were doing soldier?” her tone promised murder. “Such injuries are potentially fatal to Humans. You came close to committing murder!”

                “It was only a duel.”       

                “ _Against a member of the royal family duels to first blood are strictly prohibited! What if you had killed him?”_

                “I…” he took a step back to distance himself from the weapon. “You’re right. I apologize.”

                She looked like she wanted to lay into his further but sheathed her blade and turned to help him up, allowing the other to slither away. “Are you alright?”

                “I’m fine.” His formerly black gauntlets were now dark scarlet and a sizeable puddle of blood had stained the grass beside him. “It’s just a flesh wound.”

                “We’ll have to see about that. That blade was more than long enough to have the potential to have ruptured something vital; I’m taking you to medical.”

                “Really, it isn’t anything I haven’t dealt with before.” Walking was difficult and talking left the taste of iron on his tongue. “Shouldn’t you be with the brat?”

                “Under normal circumstances I would be but I’ve more pressing obligations to concern myself with at current.”

                “More pressing? What, to you, could possibly be more pressing than sticking to Eren like glue to make sure no one breathes wrong around him?”

                “You remember the warriors that you saw? What they were being sent off to do?”

                “Yes. Stamp out the Adherents.” He said. “Why?”

                “They’re dead.” Her voice was a monotone. Levi stopped cold. “All of them. They were cut down immediately. It was a trap, Ackerman. They knew that we were coming, and there were far more of them than we had ever thought.”

                “…” he forced himself to resume walking. “What’s going to happen now?”

                “I don’t know. That’s up to the King. All I know is that we need to ramp up our defenses as quickly as possible. The Capital cannot be allowed to fall under threat by them. That may well mean we’ll be forced to use the coordinate for war for the first time since the Wall’s construction.” She told him. “I have to oversee things, meaning Eren would be left without a guard today. Which is why I went to find you. But since you’re injured-.”

                “I told you. It’s a flesh wound.” He growled. “Once we stop the bleeding I’ll be fine!”

                Mikasa nodded but he could tell she wasn’t pleased with his self-diagnosis. “Very well. Proceed to medical wing for treatment. I’ll send him down to you.”

                Levi hobbled as best he could in the direction of the medical wing, all but collapsing forwards onto the floor once he’d arrived and leaving puddles of blood dotted at intervals across the tile floor. The staff were on him within moments of walking through the door and after being force-fed pain medication the wound had been disinfected, stitched closed and he’d been left with some salt and iron tablets and a cup of water.

                He’d just taken these when Eren came tearing into the room in a panicked whirl of white and gold. His green eyes ricocheted around the room and, once he’d located him, he lunged forwards and nearly hurled himself onto the cot beside him.

                “Levi! Mikasa told me what happened! You-!”

                “Calm down Eren. It was only a duel gone south; I’m fine.” The brunet’s warm fingers delicately traced the puckered angry red outline of the stitched wound. Levi flinched and bit down hard on the hiss that tried to slip passed his guard. “Like I told Mikasa, it’s just a flesh wound. A little deep, perhaps, but a flesh wound.”

                “It’s hurting you.” The distress in his eyes was poignant. “I’ll have them give you more medication and have you sleep a while until-.”

                “No, Eren. I’m alright.” It felt like a white hot brand had been shoved against his side but he managed to keep most of the pain from showing itself on his face. “Let’s go out riding in the forest nearby. Just give me a minute to change out of this armor.”

                He’d have to worry about washing the blood off of it later.

                “But you’re injured, Levi! You need to lay down. Give yourself time to recover. You lost a lot of blood!”

                “I will be resting, brat. The horse is going to be the one doing all of the work.” He allowed his tone to soften as he turned back towards him. Eren was still sitting on the edge of the cot. Levi pulled his head to his shoulder, resting his head in his hair as Eren nuzzled into his neck. “Please, Eren. You’re right that this is painful but being with you will work for the better than any medication to take my mind off of it.”

                The Prince sighed but nodded. “Alright. But only for a little while.” When Levi released him he straightened up. “I don’t want you putting yourself in danger; I really still think you should just rest. What if I were to promise to sit with you?”

                All that that would do was make the brunet bored and miserable. “I’ll meet you by the stables, Eren.”

                Levi smiled to himself when he caught Eren’s sigh as he exited the room. The eagle was asleep when he returned to his bedroom, its head tightly tucked beneath one wing. He did his best to quickly exchange his armor for clothing without aggravating his injury any further and then made his way to the stables. The brunet had done as he was told and was waiting for him there. Eren was brushing the neck of a chestnut horse as it prodded its nose into his back and nickered.

                “You’re good with horses.”

                Eren lowered the brush and looked over at him. “I like horses. Always have. They’re intelligent and gentle, but can really screw someone up if need be.”

                “I like them too.” Levi admitted, slowly approaching a sable stallion and resting his hand on its head. “Often times the real determining factor in a life or death decision for a Scout outside the walls proves to be your horse.” Eren touched his shoulder to get his attention and then handed him the apple. “Thanks.”

                “Can I ask: why did you bring the blades with you?”

                “Precaution.” Once the stallion had finished the apple and eaten the core out of his hands Levi ran his fingers through its silky mane. “At a time like this, even here, we can’t be too careful.”

                “You’re a great fighter Levi, but you can’t bounce back from injuries the way that I can. Not yet.” Eren led his mount from the stall and set a bridle between its teeth. “If anything happens, though I doubt that it will, let me handle it. I didn’t bring any weapons out with me but I can fall back on my Titan form in a fight if necessary. That will be more than enough.”

                “I’m the one who is supposed to be protecting you.” Guiding his mount free as well he pulled himself up into the saddle. The freshly stitched injury strained against its bonds with the movement.

                “Once we’re on equal footing as far as survivability goes, I’ll let you.” After checking to make sure that his companion was securely in the saddle he prodded his horse into motion. “I don’t want to lose you Levi. Anything that I can do to prevent that will be done. You’re strong but you’re human, and humans are fragile.”

                “I’m minorly wounded and you’re feeling like a mother hen. I get it.”

                The pair traveled down the slopping road into the capital, then along a road to the East until they reached a small patch of woodlands about a mile outside of the city.

                “Which trail do you want to take?” Eren asked, directing his mount to a stop.

                “Aren’t you the one who set a time limit on exactly how long my invalid ass can be out of bed after suffering a stab wound?” he pointed out. “You know them better than I do. I’ve never been out here. Choose one that we can get to the end of within the allotted amount of time.”

                “I guess that’s a better plan. It would suck to not be able to finish a trail once we’ve started it.” The brunet mulled things over for a moment. “Well, I may know of one in particular which is notable for its beauty this time of year. All of the trees have changed color by now and the wild flowers will be in full bloom in the meadow at the end.”

                “Well, lead the way. We should get going before your self-prescribed timer for the amount of time I can stay outside turns out.”

                The sun shone a soft gold as it diffused itself through the spread canopy of scarlet leaves, dappling the undergrowth and ground around them. Birds twittered and flew about and the last insects of the season hummed lazily in the sun. The hooves of their horses clopped a steady rhythm against the pale soil of the packed-hard trail. Levi sat back in his saddle, reigns gripped loosely in hand, and allowed his grey eyes to fall to half-mast. Basking in the warmth of the latening day and the company of the other beside him.

                “There it is! Just up ahead!” Eren sped his mount’s pace, pulling ahead and breaking free into the secluded meadow at the end. A sea of swaying flowers in a kaleidoscope of color stretched across the entire span of a sizeable clearing. In the middle of the meadow was an ancient tree with far-reaching branches and a thick and sturdy trunk.

                “We’ll hang out here for a while, since there’s no point in wasting the opportunity presented by having come in the first place. Then I’m taking you back to the medical wing for the night. Just to be sure.”

                Levi refused to give any further justification to that statement than could be provided by a grunt.

                “Besides the horses need a little rest. And some water.” He said. “There’s a stream about 100 meters that way through the trees, I-.”

                “No, brat. I’ll take them. You stay here.”

                “Levi-.”

                “Eren, I am not as badly injured as you believe. If I have to beat you up to prove it I will!”

                It was clear that the brunet wanted to protest further but equally clear that Levi had lost his patience and Eren knew it. “Ok. Just…promise not to strain yourself.” He dismounted and handed over the reins. “Come back quickly. I’ll get lonely if you don’t.”

                Still riding his own mount and leading Eren’s by the reins Levi headed away into the trees. Thankfully the bank of this stream was comprised mostly of dry loose gravel and only a few isolated puddles of mud which were easily avoided. The raven dismounted himself before taking both reins again and leading them to the water’s edge.

                He didn’t know when the silence got to him, but once he’d realized that the birds and crickets had all fallen quiet Levi snapped to attention. Senses all on high alert and a feeling of foreboding beginning to steal over him as he swung around to again look at the trees. A sort and a whiney made it clear that the horses had picked up on it too. What was it? What did it want? How long had it been there?

                …Eren was still back at the meadow!

                _Fuck!_ The nearest horse to him was Eren’s but he leapt onto it anyway and the beast, seeming to understand what he wanted it to do, took off running back in the direction they had come. Levi dismounted the moment that the horse broke free of the trees, hitting the ground running and casting around in the clearing for any signs of Eren. His pace slowed to a stop when he caught sight of him propped against the trunk of the tree. _Tch. Here I was worried I would find him murdered and here he is asleep! Figures._

                He started walking towards him again at a much calmer pace.

                “Oi, Eren. Wake up! We need to be getting back!”

                No response.

                “Brat-.” That was when he spotted the red hues splattered across the grass. His first instinct was to rush to his side and check him for injuries. Stop the bleeding. Drag him home to safety. Had it not been for his military training the panic would have blinded him to the crack of a twig off to his right and behind him.

                Sparks flew as the blade met with his. The wound in his side screamed as the force of the strike forced him down onto one knee. Squinting through the pain, effort and glare of the sun Levi raised his head and caught a glimpse of his attacker.

                “You!” It was the guard from that morning who had approached him on the training green. “If you’re pissed over your Captain intervening earlier you should really take it up with her. And now is hardly the time to settle petty grievances like this.” His arms were shaking with the effort of keeping the other’s blades at bay. “There’s a killer on the loose! The Prince is injured! We need to get him to help!”

                “A killer on the loose? No, there isn’t. Not yet.” His eyes narrowed. “But there will be once I’m done with you ‘Lance Corporal of the Scouting Legion’.”

                It was only then that he understood. The meaning behind his gut feeling that morning. The insistence of the other he help him ‘train’. The ferocity of the attack. The extra blade. Wounding him hadn’t been his intention. His intention had been much worse. “Assassin!”

                If a member of the royal guard could be an Adherent what did that mean for the Empire’s future? How many were there? Who were they?

                “That’s right.” The other hissed. “I would have killed you this morning had the Caecus bitch not gotten in the way; I couldn’t go making a scene since you aren’t my only target. How nice of the both of you to isolate yourselves together and make my job easier.”

                He broke his guard and drove his foot into his chest. Levi’s feet left the ground and he flew backwards, landing hard and tumbling across the ground the wind up crumbled in a painful heap. Dirt was smeared across his face. Twigs and bits of foliage had tangled in his hair. Little stones buried in the ground had torn his clothing and the shirt he wore was rapidly turning red with the blood from the reopened wound.

                The strength possessed by this Shifter was far in excess of any of those he’d locked swords with during the Halgrind. Even if this hadn’t been the case his wounded state had already put him at a decided disadvantage. Broken bones shifted out of place as he moved to put weight onto them, shredding into the surrounding flesh when he forced himself back onto his feet.

                _Gods help me!_ He hadn’t seen the flash or felt the shockwave but where his foe had once stood now stood a 13 meter Titan. It moved with shocking speed for its size, fist creating a massive hole in the earth where he’d been standing seconds before. Without gear Levi was unable to put much meaningful distance between himself and the impact zone and was again sent sprawling. He had to do a barrel roll to avoid the next attack and wound up on all fours in the meadow’s western most quadrant. _Damn it! I’ve never believed in all of this ‘theology’ shit but if you do exist, of great and powerful War God, know is the time to prove it!_

                He didn’t know what he thought would come as a result of his somewhat insulting prayer. A bolt of fire from on high? A flock of eagles to swoop down and carry them off to safety? Or, perhaps, for the red haze to of the Rage to cloud his vision. Instead, though alone but for Eren and their attacker, Levi could have sworn he heard a voice he didn’t recognize speaking from beside him.

                “What separates a true warrior from other men on the field of battle is both knowing when to stand his ground and knowing when to use it.”

                He had to his advantage that bolting hadn’t been something his attacker had expected but that didn’t last for very long. Within half a minute the Shifter was crashing through the undergrowth after him and gaining fast. He’d be caught any moment now. He could imagine its massive fingers crushing him to death and put on a last desperate burst of speed only to have the ground suddenly vanish from underneath him. How he reacted in time to leap off the rocky edge and catch hold of a hanging vine he didn’t know, but his pursuer was not so lucky. He watched him plummet out of sight into the maw of the cave as the vine swung back towards solid ground.

                Levi didn’t know if the fall had killed him. It didn’t really matter. All that he could think of now was getting back to Eren and checking on his condition.

                When he finally reached the meadow again his hands were shaking and he almost didn’t want to touch him for fear of what he would find. Levi pressed two fingers against the brunet’s neck and nearly went limp with relief. He was alive.

                “Hold on, Eren.” Disregarding his own injuries he hauled the taller male up over his shoulders and dragged him to where the two horses had fled during the fight. Hoping the brown steed would follow Levi draped Eren over the front of the saddle before mounting up behind him. Prodded the beast a bit more sharply than he needed to, forcing the horse to the limits of its speed and not relenting to allow it to rest. Out of the forest. Back into the city. Through the streets, disregarding the people who shouted and leapt clear to avoid being trampled. Up the road to the clifftop where the castle stood.

                Spilling out of the saddle and hoisting Eren’s limp form onto his back, Levi took off running towards the front doors.


	12. Warlord

                “ _The next one of you who fucking touches me is going to get a firsthand understanding of my skill set!”_

                The first thing both of Eren’s parents saw on entering the medical wing was the raven-haired male flailing his broken limbs and crutches at every staff member who would dare to come within his reach and make any sort of effort to treat him. Covered head to toe in blood dirt cuts and bruises, hair sticking up and colonized by twigs and leaves, he would have been a rather ridiculous sight to behold had it not been for the look in his eyes which promised murder.

                _“You’ve stitched up my deepest wounds, set my broken bones and stuck me back on these god damn crutches! I am fine! Worry about Eren!”_ There was as much anxiety as anger in his voice as he sent a brief glance towards the room’s other occupant. Eren lay unconscious and propped against a number of pillows in the cot beside which the furious raven had posted himself beside, his chest heavily bandaged and ruined shirt nowhere to be seen.

                “Levi, I think my son is fine.” Grisha’s voice was enough to divert Levi’s attention away from continuing his efforts to maul the nearby medicants.  “The wounds were superficial and the poison on the blade was mild. The only reason he’s still unconscious is because he sustained a blow to the head. The assassin wasn’t after him; his focus was only on preventing him from being able to intervene. He was after you.”

                “The bastard did say something about that, yeah.” He growled, threatening gaze returning to the circling healers. “They can concern themselves with me once he’s conscious again. I can wait until then.”

                “No, Levi. You can’t.” Though Carla’s voice was gentle her tone was firm. Motherly. And clearly expecting his cooperation. “Have you taken a look at yourself since you go back to the castle? You’re bruised and bloodied and need to rest. Please, for Eren’s sake when he wakes up again-which will be soon-let them treat you.”

                He eyed her almost coldly for a moment before relenting and allowing a few of the staff members to cautiously approach him. “Fine, then. Just make it quick.”

                “Mikasa tells us that this is the second attempt that was made on your life today.” Grisha said.

                “It would seem that way, yes. I wrote it off as an accident originally. Maybe I should have suspected more.”

                “Don’t blame yourself.”               

                “I’m not.”

                “What happened?”

                “The first time?”

                “Yes.”

                “I was out on the green in the early morning training when he approached me and basically forced his ‘assistance’ on me. If Mikasa hadn’t intervened in our ‘duel’ he would have killed me then and there.”         

                “And the second?”

                “He must have followed us out onto that trail.” Levi lowered his eyes and shook his head. “She told me what had happened to the warriors that you sent to fight with the Adherents, and yet I still left him alone when I shouldn’t have.”

                To his surprise he was yanked into a hug by the brunet’s mother. “This isn’t your fault. You couldn’t have known. Eren is going to be fine so please don’t blame yourself for what happened.”

                “Where is the assassin now? Did you kill him?”

 “No. Well…I can’t really be sure. Last I saw of him was when he was falling into a big-ass hole in the ground.” He said, shaking his head. “I don’t know what was at the bottom, but I can hope and pray that it was stalactites. Preferably sharp ones. I hope he died slowly.”

“An assassin hidden within the ranks of the guard coupled with what would seem to be their prior knowledge of our military movements it’s difficult to escape from the possibility that this may be a case of betrayal somewhere within our own Clan.” Grisha’s tone was grim. Levi scooted closer to Eren’s bedside, gaze flickering to the door in a frosted glare. “There’s no way of knowing who they are or how many of them they could be. A purge may be our only option to-.”

“That would be a very bad idea.” His voice was louder than it needed to be and bounced off of the surrounding walls like exploding shards of glass. “It’s obvious that the Adherents have some sort of designs for the Acies Clan. Likely your destruction, given what steps they’ve taken and precisely who they have targeted thus far. Giving away what we know won’t stop them. All it will do is expedite their plans and then we’ll be left with no time to react.”

“What would you suggest that we do instead, Levi?”

“Cover our asses. But do it quietly.”

He expected to be asked how he suggested they best go about doing that. Levi almost fell out of his chair when the King instead informed him “very well. I’ll leave this in your hands.”

After doing a brief double take he inquired “W-What?”

“You’ve proven yourself a capable warrior and tactician. And it’s clear that you have a plan with which you plan to go through with in order to deal with the situation at hand.” He said. “Conflict would seem to be rushing up on us sooner than anyone would have ever expected. In accordance with that, despite the fact that you have yet to go through with your Ascension, I am going to name you Warlord and put the full military power of the Empire in your hands.”

Despite the protests of the healers and his own abused body Levi forced himself up out of his chair and onto his crutches. “If you would please excuse me, its best I move forward with my plans to deal with this shit situation as soon as possible. I plan to start by locating the Captain of the guard.”

No one made any real moves to stop him. He meandered down the castle’s halls best he could and eventually located the woman he was looking for coming down the hall in the opposite direction. She met him with a small salute and came to a stop a few feet away.

“I would assume you’re out of the infirmary because you are looking for me, Warlord?” so she’d been told already.

“We need to talk.” He informed her, doing his best to thoroughly inspect their surroundings without making it obvious what he was doing. “In private. Immediately. Do you know of anywhere where you’re absolutely sure we won’t be overheard?”

Mikasa nodded. “There’s a tower in the North wing which no one uses anymore. The room at the top is fairly small and has a door which we can barricade.” She told him. “Follow me.”

Stairs were more than daunting at the current time but Levi forced himself to clamber up them with his crutches clicking about behind him. The ravenette had reached the top long before he had and Levi found her waiting for him in the room that she’d described. It was fairly unremarkable in appearance, barren of furniture small and dusty. A single window had been set into the wall which was barely large enough to see out of from where he stood. Once he was inside Mikasa made her way over to the door and closed it tightly behind him.

“How much do you already know?” he asked her.

“Not much. Only that Eren was wounded, though I understand he is stable now. That there was an Adherent spy amongst the ranks of _my_ guard and that he twice today tried to assassinate you. It would seem that you scare them. And I know of your new rank, of course.”

“I didn’t ask for it if that’s what you’re thinking.”              

“I doubt that you asked for your former rank either. This isn’t a place of ‘asking’ it’s a place of earning and you have.” Her eyes dropped from his and then she delivered a small bow. “Forgive me for my past behavior. You saved Prince Eren’s life, and for that I can only be grateful.”

“Our feelings of contention for each other should be the last thing on either of our minds at a time like this. The assassin may have targeted me first, but he made it clear he would have finished Eren had he succeeded in cutting me down.” He chuckled and shook his head, leaning against the curved wall of the tower to peer down out of the window at the ground below him. “He’d just finished giving me a lecture on how I was supposed to let him take care of it if any shit did go down due to my injury just an hour before. Had he been conscious-.”

“Eren is reckless and you well know but he isn’t stupid. Even had he not lost consciousness with that wound he wouldn’t have been able to make use of his Titan form.”

The raven glanced back at her over his shoulder. “Why would that be?”

“This is usually the sort of thing which wouldn’t be explained to you until you’ve gotten closer to your Ascension but I think, given what has happened, it would be better if you knew about it now.” Mikasa propped herself against the wall opposite of where he stood. “Our Titan forms are not a Deus ex Machina to be used with abandon. Even with our ability to regenerate from injuries we need to be mindful of exactly how much damage we take and where. There’s a certain threshold which our real bodies can’t be allowed to approach if we plan to utilize our other form.”

“After a certain amount of damage you can’t shift?”

“I don’t believe you’re understanding precisely what I mean to tell you so allow me to clarify. Not all of the Titans your people fought against were always Titans. Some of them were Shifters, once.”

He peeled his gaze completely away from the window now and turned around. “What?”

“Use of our Titan form requires precise control over our inhuman nature. If we become too weak, either from injuries or sickness or some other outside influence, our control weakens too. And if it weakens enough it’s very possible that our other form with consume our rational mind.”

“And all that’s left is just another Titan.”

“If you know what to look for, you find a difference.” Her tone was grim. “They’re stronger, for one thing. And there’s always a faint shadow left of who they used to be.”

“They act strangely compared to other Titans?” she nodded. “We called the ‘Abberents’. Tried to avoid them whenever possible by signaling our fellows with flare guns whenever we spotted one, but it didn’t always work out the way we hoped it would.” He didn’t want to imagine Eren as a monster. “I think it’s undeniable by now that this is an inside job. And it’s equally clear that we can’t trust anyone currently among the ranks of the guards. That means it’s up to us to protect Eren and make sure that something like this isn’t allowed to happen again.”

“We’re both formidable in our own right but, especially with you being as injured as you currently are, we won’t be able to watch over the Prince twenty four hours a day. Not with only two of us.”

“It won’t be only two of us. Not for long.” He said.

“I don’t follow.”

“A new set of guards will be coming in soon, right? Trainees?” Mikasa nodded. “I know that you dislike Horse Face but I feel that we can trust him. He had plenty of opportunity to move in on us while Eren and I were drunk and asleep in the Equos clan’s village but nothing happened so it’s doubtful he’s one of them. Approach him and two others you believe can be trusted and instruct them to meet with me in a few week’s time. In this tower.”

“Yes, Sir.”

“In the interim I’ll leave most concerns to you. As much as I would rather handle everything that I could myself the more I rest the sooner I’ll be able to recover from my injuries.”

“I think that may be best. There is now no question that war is just on the horizon, and the Acies Clan needs you at full strength.”

“I’m going to go back to the medical wing. Eren might have woken up by now.”

“I’ll see to it that what you’ve asked is done. Would you like assistance back down the stairs?”

Levi peered back down into the spiraling darkness of the staircase leading down from the tower. “No, thank you. I’ll be alright on my own. You should go ahead, as I’m certain that I’ll be a while.”

The ravenette vanished down the stairs, the sounds of her footsteps falling away to nothing. Slowly, step by painful step, he made his way down from the tower as well and clunked back to the infirmary. After a brief exchange of words with Grisha and another hug from Carla Eren’s parents left him alone to watch over the brunet as he slept on the cot. Levi lowered himself back into the chair where he’d been sitting before and propped the crutches against the wall to wait. He’d begun to slip in and out of sleep himself when he heard the soft shift of fabric and felt a warm hand on his arm.

“Welcome back to the world of the living, brat.” Eren was sitting up in bed propped against the pillows that had been stacked behind him. His hair was even more of a mess than usual and his green eyes were hazed by medication and narrowed against the pain. “Do you remember how you wound up here?”

“My head hurts…it’s blurry, I… _Levi, it was one of the guard! He-!”_

“Eren!” He winced as he leaned forwards, grabbing the other by the shoulders to stop his panicked flailing. “I know who it was. I don’t know if he’s dead or not, but I can promise you that he’s gone.” The taller brunet slowly relaxed. Levi felt him go limp against him but his body was still shaking. “Mind telling me what happened, Eren? You tell me you know how to fight and certainly have the bluster one would expect from a warrior but I haven’t really seen any proof yet.”

Had he been any less drained he probably would have bristled, but all he did was sigh. “He tricked me, Levi.”

“Tricked you?”

Eren nodded into his shoulder. “He was a member of the royal guard. I didn’t think to consider him a threat. He told me that there was an emergency and that I needed to head back to the castle immediately. That I could take his horse and he would go and fetch you and take you back as well but when I turned my back he stabbed me. There must have been something on the blade, because I lost consciousness almost as soon as I hit the ground on the edge of the tree line.”

“Edge of the tree line?” he repeated. “How did you end up sitting against that tree, then?”

The brunet shifted just enough to peer up at him in confusion. “I was sitting against the tree? I don’t remember that.”

 _That bastard posed him!_ Another flash of anger blazed white hot through his veins. Levi gritted his teeth and pulled Eren back against him. “I found you sitting against the tree in the middle of the clearing. I thought you had fallen asleep. When I approached he pounced but I heard him coming and managed to stop him from taking me by surprise.”

“So he really was an assassin.” Not a question. A statement laced with fear. Despite already being held in a near bone crushing grip Eren still pressed himself closer to the raven. “Was he alone?”

“…” He debated lying briefly before admitting with a sigh “no one can be sure, but we don’t think so.”

Eren moaned. “Don’t leave me alone in here, Levi.”

“Relax, brat. No one is going to get you on my watch.” Levi assured him. “Your Father has placed the full military power of the Empire in my hands and I’ve set certain measures into motion. Mikasa and I are going to make sure you’re safe.” This promise didn’t seem to help very much. Eren was still shaking and clinging to him like a scared child. _He is a child. The equivalent of 15. With how little he shows it, I had almost forgotten the fact._ Levi sent a glare at his crutches and then carded his fingers through the brunet’s hair. “You don’t want to sleep in here do you?”

Eren shook his head vigorously.

“In my condition, stuck once again with these god damn crutches, I can’t carry you Eren. But if you can walk you can come and stay with me in my room.”

“I think I’m going to have an easier time of walking than you will Levi. Just how many broken bones do you have?”

“Too many.” He pulled himself out of the chair and then up onto the crutches. “Coming?”

He was only somewhat unsteady on his feet when he rose off of the cot. “Right behind you.”

Levi noticed, but didn’t mention, the fact that his taller shadow was practically stepping on the backs of his feet due to how close behind him he was walking. Warily watching every shadow that they passed. It wasn’t until he’d closed, latched and barricaded the door behind them that he began to relax.

“It’s late. We should both try and get some sleep.” He ignored the eyes of the bird that rested on him as he passed by its perch and skirted around to his side of the bed. “Try not to let that paranoia last too long, Eren. Caution is undeniably something you should be erring on the side of with things the way that they are but starting at every shadow isn’t going to help with matters. You’ll be well protected soon enough.” He set the crutches across the nearby table before crawling into bed beside where Eren had curled up atop the covers. “Until then it would likely be best to avoid leaving the castle as much as possible.”

“I don’t really want to. There may be some Adherents in here but there’s more out there.” He nestled deeper into the sheets and pillows. “I’m scared, Levi. I’m not going to go looking for any more trouble.”

He doubted that would last for very long.


	13. Of Keys and Lullabies

 

                He’d never been any good at this romantic crap. Such things just weren’t natural to him, and so it only took about a fraction of a second for him to begin regretting his decision to attempt to come up with something that would distract the brunet from his only semi-receded mistrust of the world outside of Levi’s bedroom. He needed to come up with something more creative than sex, because not only would that not distract him for near long enough with all of the injuries he had all it would likely result in was a fairly painful and unpleasant experience. But what?

                Creativity wasn’t something he usually had to make much use of outside of battle.

                Maybe he should go down into the city and see if he could find him a gift?

                Was it safe doing that with the potential of more assassins?

                Could he even get himself onto a horse while trapped on crutches?

                It was while mulling over these questions and pacing from one side of the stable to the other that the foot of one of his crutches caught on something and nearly slid out from underneath him.

                _The fucking hell was that?_ With a considerable degree of difficulty Levi finally managed to maneuver his crutches in such a way that would allow him to crouch down and began sifting through the hay and dust determined to locate whatever it was that had so very nearly dumped him onto his face. His hand made contact with metal and, after shaking the last bits of dried hay free, he examined his find.

                With how crusted in dry mud it was it took him a while to recognize what it was. Cradled in the palm of his hand was an old fashioned bronze key about four inches in length, dropped years before and left forgotten to corrode away on the floor. Its function likely long since replaced. Unneeded.

                Maybe he could put it to use again.

                _Now all I have to do is locate the jar labeled ‘creativity’ and I’ll have everything I need to take his mind off of his troubles._ He thought dryly, heading out of the stables towards the water pump used to fill the troughs with the intention on giving the key a thorough cleaning.  After devoting close to twenty minutes of effort to vigorously scrubbing Levi was pleased to discover than, though the surface held an antique finish, the red-gold color held an eye catching shine to rival any charm.

                After stopping briefly in his room to locate a leather string he headed off to find his brat.

                Not in Levi’s bedroom sleep. Not in his own. Undoubtadly not on the green or in the city. So where?

                A strange sound caught his attention from down a narrow hallway. Dying off then rising again. Higher pitched then lower pitched. Disjointed as if the responsible party couldn’t quite decide on the exact tone that they wanted. Levi rounded the corner and found himself standing in a small room he hadn’t seen before. There was Eren, sitting with his back to him and his eyes closed in front of a grand piano hands resting on the ivory keys. Occasionally he’d press down on one and match the pitch it produced with a quiet hum.

                The sound of the door swing shut made him look up with a start, green eyes locking on him almost immediately.

                “You play?”

                Eren smiled at the surprise in his voice. “Piano and violin. A Prince is expected to know his way around more instruments than just the sword.” Another tone. Mid-range and sweet. “And I can sing a bit as well. I’ve actually…been working on something.”

                “What?”

                “I’ll tell you in a bit. You should tell me why you were looking for me first.” The beryl gaze fell on the leather chord which dangled from his fist. “And what that is that you have there.”

                “A gift.” He said, allowing himself to enjoy the effect these words had on the brunet. He perked up immediately, his entire face lighting up as Levi approached. “May I sit?”

                Eren scooted to one side and allowed Levi to occupy the piano bench beside him. Eyes still trained on the hand which concealed the key. “What is it? Come on! Tell me!”

                He uncurled his fingers and allowed the Shifter beside him to view the necklace that he’d made for him.

                The brunet tilted his head to one side, curiosity joining the excitement in his eyes as he regarded the object he’d been presented with. “A key?” he questioned. “To what? You bedroom? Do you have a secret stash of something I should know about?”

                “None of those things, stupid brat.” He chuckled, dropping the charm into his hands. “It’s…” forcing what had to be the single cheesiest thing he would ever say in his life out was not going to be easy. “That’s…considerably more meaningful. And something very few people have been able to claim to hold even a piece of, let alone the entire thing.” No turning back now. “What I just gave you is the key to my heart.”

                The way that Eren looked at him after he’d said it made him think that he was about to start laughing. Instead, head still cocked to the side as it had been throughout his entire explanation, he smirked then gently pressed the tip of the key against his chest and turned.

                “What are you doing?”

                “Why, unlocking you of course.”

                “Alright brat, you’ve taken the metaphor too far!”

                Eren did laugh this time and draped the key around his neck. “I’m sorry. Really. But you left yourself wide open.”

                “Uh-huh.”

                “I have something for you also. Well,” now it was his term to shift uncomfortably, “I wrote something for you. About you. It reminds me of you. I just finished working on the last chords when you walked in.”

                “This isn’t going to make me start bleeding out of my ears, is it?” He smirked when Eren elbowed him. “Well you’ve gone through too much effort not to show me either way.”

                “It doesn’t hurt to make clear admissions. You don’t always need to beat around the bush.” Eren pressed a few more keys to reacquaint himself with the instrument’s tone. “Luckily I can now read you well enough to know when your surly comments actually mean ‘I would love to hear it, babe’.”

                Levi rolled his eyes as the brunet beside him began to play. The melody which rolled from the keys was soft, sweet and sat. Starting delicately before rising upwards into a crescendo.

 

_Will I stay_

_Where it’s safe and sound?_

_Or will I fight_

_‘till I hit the ground?_

_Inside this bitter cage_

_All the flowers wilt down in the crimson sky._

_Take my hand_

_Will you run or stay?_

_In this world_

_Full of cruelty._

_Will we take arms with the hopes to see the sun again?_

_We pray!_

_Do we lack the strength to fight?_

_Have we lost the will to fly?_

_The world is dark._

_The world is cruel._

_But still we hang on tight!_

_If this final breath_

_Could somehow save this world_

_I’d breathe my last sigh_

_And close my tired eyes._

_And all the ones_

_We’d lost_

_We’d find_

_Again_

_In this beautiful world we’ve wished for._

_But the world grows darker._

_We can’t recover._

_This narrow cage that we depend on slowly crumbles._

_Is this the end?_

_We cannot mend._

_We’re slowly_

_Dying._

_If we’re here_

_Livin’ with fear_

_We must_

_Keep_

_Fighting!_

                The notes sped slightly. Rolling up and over each other in a why which might mimic the chaos of battle. Rising and falling like victories and losses. And then tapered out into four clear descending chords. Once the final note had faded into silence Eren took his hands away from the keys and smiled at him.

                “So,” there was barely detectable nervousness in his voice, “what did you think?”

                “I think that you’re good, and that I’d like to hear you play the violin sometime too.” He told him. “And that you’ve shown me up brat.”

                “I don’t know, the key to the heart of a man like you? Showing that up is a tall order.” He leaned against him with a contented sounding sigh. “What are you going to give me for the Christmas season? Your soul in a bottle?”

                “If it wasn’t the belief of your Clan that the souls of all warriors belong to Araon I’d think about it.” He dead panned. Eren snickered and settled more comfortably against him. “Brat.”

                “Hmm?” he hummed, not opening his eyes.

                “I know that you don’t like the thought of going outside.” Levi said slowly. “But the eagles wing has healed to the point where he can fly again and it’s time we sent him on his merry fucking way. I thought that you might have wanted to come and help see him off.”

                Eren had stiffened at the mention of leaving the building’s perceived safety but relaxed again soon after. “We’ll go together?”

                He nodded. “We will?”

                “And we won’t split up?”

                “We won’t.” Levi promised.

                “You’ll be armed?”

                “Eren,” his voice contained the traces of a sigh. “I can’t do much with them in crutches.”

                “…Right. Crutches.” Eren spoke slowly as he stood, Levi following. “I’ll get my sword and meet up with you at your room. We’ll head down to the edge of the green and release him in the little copse of trees there. And then head back inside.”

                “I’m surprised, Eren. I hadn’t expected your paranoia to last for longer than a handful of hours; your wounds certainly didn’t.” Levi said. “It’s been almost three weeks.”

                “It isn’t paranoia when someone is _actually_ out to get you!”

                “I would like to see them try!”

                He walked quickly back to his bedroom and grabbed the nearest piece of cloth that he could find, tossing it over the raptor’s head. Levi forced the creature back into its little cage as gently as he could. When Eren met him just outside it in the hallway the pair exited the castle and headed out across the green.

                As they walked together over the short cropped emerald grass, Eren holding the cage so that Levi wouldn’t have to bother with it while also maneuvering crutches across the soft ground. Under the light of the setting sun as it began to dip down towards the horizon, the raven observed the weapon which hung across his twin blades he’d first been given for use in the arena this one was a long sword, the blade four feet long and the handle one and a half hand lengths. Despite its size the weapon was graceful and tapering and the Titan Crystal it had made from was a warm color somewhere between the hue of his golden skin and brown hair.

                Did it match the color of his armor?

                Did his armor look anything like what he had been given?

                If so Levi wanted to see him in it. Preferably in a situation where battle wasn’t raging so that he could safely stare at him without having to worry about winding up with a blade in his back.

                The little copse on the edge of the cliff was barely more than a thin line of trees and they could see the city stretched below them from between the trunks. Levi shook the cage until the bird had emerged out onto the ground and then removed the cloth. It looked up at him and clicked its beak, but aside from ruffling its wings made no effort to take flight.

                “You realize that you’re free, right? What are you waiting for? Fly away!”

                Eren chuckled. “Looks like someone doesn’t want to leave.”

                “That is a wild animal, Eren! Not a domesticated pet! Of course it wants to leave!” Even shooing at it with his hands only made the raptor hop a few paces forwards before it stopped again. _God damn it! That sparrow was never this stubborn; even as much as it seemed to love Isabelle that damn thing couldn’t WAIT to get as far away as possible._

                Now that he thought about it, maybe it hadn’t been the three of them the little creature had been so desperate to escape.

                _No living creature in its right mind with any choice would stay down there on a permanent basis._ He picked up the eagle around the middle, careful to remain beyond the reach of its claws, and tossed it up into the air. Only then, finally, did the avian spread its wings and soar off into the distance. “What are you smirking about?”

                “Nothing.” Eren assured him. “I just feel like that won’t be the last we see of your feathered friend.”

                “Friend? That thing nearly ripped my finger off!”

                “That was a while ago.”

                “And what makes you think that ‘a while’ would have suddenly changed something?”

                “Had I pressed him up I probably would have lost a hand.” He said. “When you did it he acted like a chicken set into a pond. To give you an idea of what that looks like, they pull their legs up and float.”

                “…” Levi didn’t quite know how best to respond to that and eventually settled for “what the hell has the Crown Prince of the Empire been doing putting chickens in ponds? Did you sink all of your toy boats or something?”

                “It’s a bit of a long story and it happened when I was considerably younger.” Eren informed him. Before he could further elaborate the ending of this riveting tale both caught sight of an armored figure rapidly approaching them. The brunet reached immediately for his weapon but the raven held out a hand to stop him.

                “Wait, Eren. I think that I may know why he’s here.”

                Though the Prince still gripped the hilt which poked above one of his shoulders he didn’t draw it. Teal gaze steely and locked on the guard who had now come clearly into view. Reaching them, he bowed to Eren first and said “Young Lord,” before delivering a slightly more shallow bow to him. “Warlord.”

                “The Guard Captain sent you?” he asked the shifter tersely, wanting to assure himself that the man was not a threat as soon as possible.

                “Yes, Sir. She informed me to tell you that the ‘preparations you requested’ have been completed. As to what those might be-.”

                “No need. I understand precisely what she means. Thank you for the message.” In the falling dark his eyes almost glowed. “You may go. The Prince and I shall make our way back in a few minutes.” Only once the other’s figure had disappeared completely did he speak again. “Would you like to head in now, Eren? Or would you rather we stay out a bit longer and look at the stars?”

                “That would depend,” though Levi had removed his gaze from the green Eren’s eyes remained locked on where the other Shifter had disappeared into the distance hackles refusing to lay back down. “Were you really expecting word from Mikasa?”

                He nodded. “I was. If not today I knew that I would be receiving it soon.”

                “What was it that you asked her to do?” Eren asked, relaxing. “And why did it take so long?”

                “It took so long because I had to wait for the new wave of recruits to come in for the royal guard in order to be able to truly trust in the fact that we haven’t recruited an infiltrator for the task of helping Mikasa and I defend you.” He informed him. “Unbenounced to everyone who doesn’t  absolutely _need_ to know, we’re gathering together a personal guard to keep you safe.”

                “Who is in it?” Eren asked curiously, beginning to walk towards the castle. Though he hadn’t responded to Levi’s question it was clear what his answer was.

                “Aside from Horse Face, I don’t know. I left it up to Mikasa’s discretion. I know she’ll spare no expense in girding any potential candidates to injure they aren’t tainted.”

                “Jean?” Eren wrinkled his nose. “Levi-!”

                “Stop it!” His voice held the crack of command and, despite the crutches he whirled to face the other. “This isn’t a situation in which we can afford to dick around exchanging out people that you don’t like for people that you do! My concern is _keeping you alive._ ” Levi did his best to make his tone more gentle for his next words. “I know that you don’t like him. But we can trust him. Right now, that is the only thing that matters.”

                The brunet sighed and nodded. “You’re right, I’m sorry.”

                “You say it like my being right is unusual.” They stopped just inside the castle’s doors. Eren shook his head at him but the smile gave away that the other hadn’t really offended him. “I’ll see you later on tonight.”

                “You aren’t going to be at dinner?”

                “Most likely not.” He said. “I won’t go without eating though, so if that is what you’re worried about you don’t need to be.”

                “And what should I tell my parents? If they ask?”

                “The truth. Just make sure that no one else is around to overhear. Understand?” Eren nodded. “Good. I want you to watch yourself these next few hours, brat. Neither Mikasa or I will be around to help you.”

                “Don’t worry. I plan to keep this sword on me until someone else that I can trust comes along who has one. Maybe even after.”

                “Whatever makes you feel safe, Eren. Just don’t get into trouble while I’m not around.”

                They departed to opposite ends of the castle, Eren heading off to find something to entertain him until dinner and Levi making his way back up to the top of that tower. Mikasa was waiting for him just outside of the door.

                “Aside from Jean I was able to find two more who can be fully trusted without much concern towards their backgrounds or hidden intentions. Adherent or otherwise.”

                He nodded. “Good. That would put the number at five. As long as at least three of us are with or around him at any given time we should be able to handle whatever those bastards could hope to throw at us.”

                “The Prince is an able fighter.”

                “Despite what you seem to be thinking my intentions behind posting a guard of at least three strong around him isn’t to prevent him from participating in any conflict that might break out. It’s to make sure that he remains able to.” Levi informed her. “Now, I can only balance on these damn things on stairs for so long? So if you wouldn’t mind?”

                Mikasa stepped aside and pushed open the door to allow him to pass through. The little room was still just as he had remembered it being with the two of them and three others all trying to occupy it at once. Even without crutches it was difficult to find the room to move.

                When the door shut behind them he turned his attention to the identities of the three that Mikasa had selected for their purposes and was surprised to find Jean wasn’t the only familiar face. Besides Horse Face, looking back at him expectantly, were none other than Freckled Jesus and Potato Girl.

                “Kirsteins, Bodt and Blouse?” he glanced at the ravenette again.

                “They’re capable, Levi. Their scored were admirably high and, more importantly, they can be trusted.”

                “Capable?” He snorted. “Capable of wiping their asses maybe. They may have made it through mandatory training for the official Royal Guard but merely reaching that level will not be tolerated here.” Grey eyes torched the three who were standing together in front of the little window. “This is not a game. This is not a training exercise. There have been attempts made on both mine and Eren’s lives-you’ve noticed my wounds-and I don’t doubt that more will come. Your job will be to thwart that. I will not tolerate anything but your absolute best and as such will be seeing to it that all three of you will be trained to my specifications. Mikasa and I will continue keeping an eye on Eren in the meantime. “I’m understood?”

                “Yes, Sir!”

                “Good. Because if your work is not satisfactory for any reason I’ll have you on your hands and knees cleaning the castle from top to bottom alone. With no food or rest until you’ve finished.”

                Sasha quickly stashed what she’d been eating behind her back as the other two answered again in the affirmative.

                “I hope you shitty brats remember that because you’re going to be held to it in the future. No exception.” He growled. “It shouldn’t be much longer until I’m off these fucking crutches. You’ll be expected to be ready to begin training then.”

                “Yes, Sir.”

                “All of you had better listen up because I don’t want to have to repeat myself more than necessary. I’m going to tell you precisely what my plans are.”

 

                Eren had figured that Levi would finish with the meeting soon and, after growing bored of reading in the library or tinkering with his belongings in his room, had proceeded to Levi’s. It was almost midnight and outside of the windows it was dark. He lit a candle to illuminate his way and then prodded a fire to life in the hearth to begin to warm the large room. When he straightened up and made to turn around he caught sight of the figure in the window and nearly dropped the candle in his hands.

                The window pane was fairly difficult to maneuver open, but once he’d managed to do so the bird flopped inside with a quiet squawk. The raptor observed him briefly then took flight and alighted back onto its stand. He forced the window closed again and chuckled.

                “I knew that you’d come back.” Eren said quietly, perching on the edge of the bed. “He didn’t believe me.”

                “Who are you talking to, Eren?” Levi’s voice was a mix of concern and caution as his grey eyes scanned the vicinity of the bed for any other persons.

                “To Himmel.” He pointed to the stand in the corner of the room and watched gleefully as his expression morphed into surprise.

                “When did it…?” Levi looked over at him in mild annoyance. “Did you just name that thing Himmel?”

                “Were you planning on naming it something else?”

                “No. Because I’m going to send it off, _again_ , tomorrow.”

                “He’s only going to keep coming back, Levi. He likes you.”

                “No, Eren, he doesn’t.”

                “Yes he does. Why else would he come back?”

                “Maybe the fact that it hasn’t had to hunt for itself since it got here?” feathers rustled softly moments before a heavy weight landed on his right shoulder. Talons pierced through fabric and pressed lightly into the skin underneath. Not enough to draw blood but more than enough to make it blatantly obvious exactly how sharp they really were. “I am _not_ your bird stand!”

                The eagle clucked at him and nibbled the shell of his ear. Eren was sprawled on his back trying to contain his laughter.

                “I don’t want a pet, brat!”

                “Oh, Levi.” Once he’d recovered enough to speak he sat up. “I know that you’ve been through enough to know that sometimes things happen regardless of whether you want them to or not. But after ending up here with me I had thought you’d also realized that not all of those things are bad.”

                The raven stared at him for a while before sighing. “You’ve got me with that much.” He said. “I’ll try and find a use for him, since he seems so very insistent on sticking around.” Making his way over to the bird stand Levi deposited the eagle back on it. “Everything we could possibly do to ensure our safety and the safety of the Empire as a whole has, as of tonight, been set into motion…except one.”

                “You can think of another?” Eren sounded more than a little bit surprised as Levi sat down next to him.

                “It concerns the matter of Ascension.” He picked at the sheets. Stared at his hands. “Eren, if the Adherents are as much of a threat as they’ve proven themselves to be what are we waiting for? Let’s just do it tonight. Now. We could go to the Temple and-.”

                Eren pressed their mouths together to cut him off and, when he pulled back, Levi couldn’t understand why he looked so…shaken.

                “We cannot do that. The Ascension has always been expedited and cannot be moved any further forwards. Only back.”

                “You call four years ‘expedited’?”

                The way that the brunet was looking at him now-with the same expression that one might wear when having to explain to a child a topic which would murder a portion of their innocence-made him nervous.

                “There’s a lot that you still don’t know but will need to before the ceremony can take place.” Eren’s hands were warm against his cheeks. His green eyes shadowed with worry for him. “No one outside of the priesthood knows exactly what goes on but I can tell you with absolute certainty that it’s not nearly so simple as breathing in smoke, drinking a potion and having a few magic words said over you. There will be a trial set before you. Something which will test you beyond imagining. The world of the Gods acts differently than ours. You could die.”

                “So if I were to expedite my schooling it would potentially move the ceremony forwards?”

                He shrugged weakly. “I doubt it, but I suppose it’s not impossible. Of course, given you’ve said that, I doubt you fully grasp the amount of material you still need to cover.” When the raven made to get back to his feet Eren caught him by the wrist. “But for now you need to rest. Or you won’t be able to accomplish anything.”

                The key glinted against his chest in the dim light of the fire. A wave of exhaustion saturated into his skin. With a sigh he allowed himself to be drawn back onto the bed and into Eren’s arms.

                “Up early tomorrow, brat.”

                “I’ll help you study.” He promised softly from beside him. “Concentrate on sleeping for now.”

                Though, between the mattress and Eren’s warmth, his body only took seconds to relax it wasn’t until the sun had risen that he’d finally succeeded in silencing his thoughts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song is the vocal version of Omake Pfadlib incase anyone was wondering


	14. Worth Obligation and Discipline

“I still can’t believe that it took him close to three whole years to _finally_ decide that we were up to snuff!” Jean’s blade made contact with Macro’s, low growl evident in his tone. “Levi is crazy!”

                As he has said it had been just a month short of three years since they’d started the raven’s ‘advanced training’ regiment and all three of them, for various reasons, had been forced to clean the castle at least once. Only a week of so had passed since he’d seemed satisfied with the level they’d achieved and had pronounced them ready for active duty.

                “I wouldn’t go so far as to call him crazy, Jean.” Marco defended. He slid his blade down towards the ashe blonde’s hilt and made a move to leverage it out of his hands. Jean noticed his intentions before he could and disengaged, retreating a few steps and readjusting his grip. “He’s hell-bent on protecting Prince Eren. Doesn’t want to see anything happen to him and wants to make sure that the Adherents will have the hardest time possible getting to him again. Were I in his place I’d want that too.”

                Their swords crossed again in a shower of sparks. Jean felt his stance give slightly as the summer-parched earth shifted beneath him. His hands were slick with sweat and he lost his grip on the sword, the freckled raven’s blade sliding to rest beneath his chin.

                “Fuck.” Marco lowered the weapon seconds later. Jean bent to retrieve his and returned it to its sheath. “I’ll get you back for that next round.”

                “In a minute.” He told him, beginning to walk towards the copse of shaded trees, Jean fell into step beside him. “I need to take a break. This heat is killer.”              

                “Make it quick.” He said as they reached the trees. Sasha was already sitting nearby with a bag of bread, likely filched from the kitchens while the staff wasn’t looking, open in front of her. “We wouldn’t want out ankle biting Warlord to see us sitting here. He’ll make us clean the castle again, or worse!” Catching sight of the other’s sidelong glance he demanded “what?”       

                “Did you forget what day it is?”

                “…Tuesday?”

                “The ceremony is tonight.” Sasha interjected, speaking around a mouthful of bread and showering the vicinity with crumbs.

 “Levi is with the Prince. They’re spending the day together on Eren’s insistence in case something goes wrong.”

                “I doubt that anything will. It’s Levi.”

                She didn’t have to say more.

                “He’s not immortal, Sasha.” Marco pointed out solemnly. “Even skilled as he is, if what few legends exist about Ascension are true he’ll be hard pressed to make it through. And unlike the Halgrind he’ll be on his own. Will have to prove himself without Araon’s protection.”

                “Because ‘proving himself’ is kind of the point.” Jean pulled off his left gauntlet and ran the now free hand through his hair. “If he fails and dies we’re all screwed.”

                Marco didn’t comment and stood up. “We should finish up our sparring for the day soon. Mikasa will expect us to report into her before the ceremony.”

                “Oh, right. We need to be at the temple for that don’t we?”

                “It can’t pass without protection. After all, Levi will be completely defenseless as it’s going on.”

                Jean rose as well. “Let’s just call it quits now. I’m sure we’ll all be able to agree that this takes priority.”

 

                Long arms draped around him from behind, The brunet’s chest pressed into his back and Eren buried his face in his hair, pulling his attention away from the window and the setting sun.

                “I thought you were asleep.” He said quietly, leaning back into the other’s touch.

                “In and out.” Eren answered back. “You have to leave soon.”

                Levi nodded. “I do.”

                “You weren’t going to go up there without telling me, were you?”

                His hand came up to gently pry one of Eren’s larger warm ones from his chest, twining their fingers. “I wouldn’t dream of it, brat.” The other’s grip on his tightened. “I thought that this was what you wanted.”              

                “It is. I want you to join us so that we can finally stop beating around the relationship bush and just get married.” He rested his head on the shorter man’s shoulder instead, teal eyes filled with uncertainty. “But I’m scared. Scared that, though you’re as prepared as anyone who came back to me.”

                “Eren.” Levi turned in the other’s grip and extricated himself from his arms, taking both his hands and sitting him down on the bed. “I’m going to be fine. I promise.”

                “How can you guarantee that you’ll be able to keep that promise?”

                “Have I ever failed to keep a promise I made to you?”

                “But-.”

                “I don’t break promises, brat!” The raven gently pushed the other down and pulled the sheets over his legs. “I’ll be fine. I swear. Just go back to sleep-with all the worrying you’ve been doing these past few days I know you need it-and when you wake up everything will be over and I’ll be back beside you.”

                “I’m waiting up for you!” His stubborn tone was slurred and his eyes were heavy. Levi brushed his lips against the other’s forehead as he hung just on the edge of passing out. Eren mumbled something else but he didn’t quite manage to catch it as he headed out of the door.

                Mikasa caught up with him halfway to the stables, Marco Jean and Sasha accompanying her.

                “Levi.” She said. “We’re here to escort you to the Temple and keep watch while you’re inside. A horse is already prepared for you at the head of the road.”

                Levi nodded, changing course according to her words. “Thank you, Ackerman. I’m running close to late as it took me a while to convince Eren to let me go. Seems that, despite the fact that I’m the one going through with this, he’s developed cold feet.”

                “He’s concerned for you. You’re aware of the danger?”

                “More than just aware as both the brat and the coconut have spent the better part of three years bludgeoning me over the head with that fact.”

                “And you’re aware that Armin will be the only one with you during the ceremony? That no one else will be allowed into the temple for its duration?”

                “I am.”

                “And that you will be entirely vulnerable?”

                He grunted, hauling himself up into the saddle. “That’s why you’re coming, isn’t it? To make sure that no one attempts to take advantage of the fact that I-presumably-will be out cold on the floor.” A moment passed before Mikasa nodded, but she remained silent. “Like I said earlier we’re risking running late and should get going.”

                The others followed his example and mounted up, trailing not far behind him as they headed down towards the city streets below. The Capital was abuzz with the usual flurry of activity, and those who weren’t too preoccupied by their own business to notice them sent respectful nods as they passed. By the time they made it to the summit of the slopping road leading up to the adjacent clifftop where the temples stood the sun had set behind them.

                “We’ll wait here to escort you back to the castle after the conclusion of the ceremony.” Mikasa said once he’d dismounted. “Would you like me to carry a message back to Eren? I case something goes wrong?”

                “I made a promise that I would come back. I’m not about to break it.” He informed her staunchly. “You want a message for the brat? Tell him I’ll be fine.” Leaving his horse behind with her he turned his back on them and mounted the temple stairs.

                By now the smoky, dimly lit interior of the War God’s temple had become familiar to him. Levi moved down the main aisle between the pews and idols, approaching the altar beside which Armin stood. Resting on it were three items which he couldn’t help but think were a little bit strange. A heavy chalice filled with an off-colored liquid, an incense decanter expelling small curls of fragrant smoke and a golden athame.

                Blue eyes settled on him heavily, stony and serious. “You’re prepared?”

                He nodded, “As I’ll ever be.”

                “Let’s get started then.” He took the blade from the altar and handed it to him. “You remember what we went over?”

                “Minor sacrifice. I _was_ listening during that lesson where you informed me of protocol.” His fingers closed around the cold metal handle. “It is a little difficult to forget about the part where you have to cut yourself open.” The blade bit deep into his palm, blood welling hot and dark red as it spattered the altar. It stung like a bitch but he did his best to ignore it despite the copious bleeding. Once the Ascension was over, provided that all went well, the wound would be nothing but a distant memory.

                With his remaining good hand, he took the cup which was passed to him. “Whenever you’re ready.”

                “No point in wasting time.” Levi eyed the liquid inside as it rippled with movement at being raised into a half-hearted sort of toast. It was a dangerous shade of dark blue and smelled like acid. “Bottoms up.”

                The liquid burned his mouth and throat badly as it went down. The taste of it was chemical and sharp. He dropped the cup, barely registering the dull clang of metal colliding with stone. The smell of incense grew stronger. Suffocating. Overwhelming. His body felt as if he’d been lit on fire. The room began to pitch and whirl violently, yawing back and forth before his eyes, and then his knees gave out.

_The pounding in his head was slow to recede as his ringing ears adjusted themselves to the surrounding silence. The smell of the incense was gone. Replaced by damp and mold and rot. He curled his nose. Felt the ground with one hand. Discovered that it was no longer smooth stone, but hard packed dirt pressing into the small of his back._

_Cautiously he opened his eyes._

_Above him, where the sky should have been, hung a roof of stone adorned with massive stalactites. He was lying in a narrow alley between two decaying stone buildings. Levi sat up and looked around, the sight of dingy grime and dilapidated buildings confirming the suspicion which had slowly taken root within his sluggish brain._

_‘The Underground.’ He realized, numb with shock. ‘I’m…back at the walls?’_

_Had the last nine years of his life even happened? Had it all merely been a dream? How else could he possibly have traveled all the way back to the walls?_

_‘A dream?’ he pushed himself up onto his feet. Wobbled. Caught his balance against the crumbling brick surface to his right. ‘Of course it was a dream!’ He started walking. Swaying from side to side as he went. Nearly tripping over himself with every step. ‘Survey Corps. Humanity’s Strongest Soldier. Titan fucking Shifters!’ A grim laugh escaped him. ‘What a fucking joke.’_

_He turned out of the alleyway and onto one of the many all too familiar streets. Where he was heading exactly Levi didn’t really know._

_‘How much did I drink last night?’ The raven found himself beginning to wonder. ‘Why was I drinking to begin with? I usually don’t. Stupid thing to do down here, make yourself vulnerable while surrounded on all sides by…’ the thought of all the murderers and ruffians around him, waiting to swoop in the moment that their prey was vulnerable, died away as he looked around himself. At the utterly abandoned streets._

_There was not another living soul, human or otherwise, to be seen. The surrounding colors were almost dream-like; muted and blurred._

_‘Fucking hell! It wasn’t all a dream! This isn’t real!’ Ice flooded through him like a bolt of electricity, jolting him a few inches off the ground like a bolt of electricity passed through his veins. ‘The trial! This is it! Part of it, at least.’_

_What would happen now? Where would it come from? What would it be? Fighting down panic he frantically searched the pockets of his clothing for something, anything, which might be useable as a weapon._

_What he came up with was his old switch blade, its tortoise shell handle worn down smooth from use and four inch blade as keen and sharp as he remembered it._

_‘This will do.’ He folded the blade down again and shoved it back into his pocket but didn’t release his grip on the handle.  ‘I need to get out of the open. Find shelter and buckle down until I can figure out exactly what the hell is going on here comes around and bites me in the ass!’_

_Levi put his head down and ran. Grip on the blade white knuckled. Not knowing where he was going and not caring either. Turning left. Turning right. Catching sight of a house after a short while he leapt up the rotten stairs and reached for the doorknob only to freeze before he could touch it._

_‘No.’ A sudden hollow falling feeling of vertigo seized over him, heart beat accelerating as he realized exactly where he was. ‘This is…but it can’t be. That was years ago.’_

_He wanted to leave. To run. To find some other home or building, any other building, to shelter in. But his hand rebelled and pushed against the dried wood._

_The door swung wide on badly rusted hinges with a piercing squeak. Reluctantly he edged inside. The interior of the house was unbearably hot, dark and coated in a layer of dust inches thick. The air smelled of death and sickness and the only piece of furniture inside was a bed. The majority of the one-room house was shrouded in pitch black shadows, but through the chink of light provided by the still slightly open door Levi could see the shriveled hand of the figure lying on the bed._

_Even the oppressive silence fell away until all he could hear was his own ragged breathing. His eyes burned as tears pricked their corners. Feet pulled him unsteadily forwards to the bedside before he dropped to his knees, reaching shakily forwards to clutch the leathery almost mummified hand in both his own._

_“Mother.” Much closer now and with his eyes adjusted to the gloom he could make out the rest of the woman who had done her best for him. Died for him. Skeletal, now, her hair brittle and falling out and flesh turned to something reminiscent of raw hide. The skin on her face had been pulled tight across her once beautiful features, reducing them to a grotesque death mark of bared teeth and sunken eyes._

_His head snapped up when the floorboards squeaked in the darkness around him. Heart pounding once again, Levi squinted his eyes in a desperate effort to catch sight of whatever had made it. Where was it? What did it want? Was it just the house settling, or was he not alone?_

_A short while passed in which no more sounds made manifest and Levi was just about to rise to his feet to investigate for himself when a white hot pain flared through his left shoulder. Levi whirled around with a shout of alarm and caught his attacker by his boney wrists as he again attempted to bring the bloody switch blade down on him._

_‘How?’ It was a child. Skin the same ghostly white hue of a maggot’s. Black hair matted long and filthy. Grey eyes swollen and sunken deep into their sockets, tired looking despite the anger that clearly burned within them. Clothing, dirty and ill fitting, hanging off his mal-nourished frame like loose skin. ‘This…isn’t possible!’_

_He was face to face with himself. With the eight year old Levi Ackerman who had watched his mother die and sat alone in the house where they had lived waiting to slowly starve. At least that was what it looked like._

_This thing was far too strong to be a child. Especially one so withered looking and frail._

_Too strong and too fast. Levi was taken by utter surprise as his younger self sent him a brutal push, taking his feet from beneath him and knocking him to the floor. The dried wooden planks collided mercilessly with his back. The air was knocked from his body. The little raven pounced, his blade skewering the floor where his chest had been moments later._

_‘What the hell is going on?’_

_He managed to catch his feet again only to have his foes leap onto his back like a wild cat. Levi managed to rip him off and throw him to the floor. The kid’s body slammed into it with a force which was, admittedly, rather brutal. Bones should have broken. Yet he leapt up instantly and lunged again._

_‘Is this little bastard a demon or something? What am I going to do to stop it? Nothing seems to fucking damage this thing!’_

_Metal clanged as their blades met each other. Small sparks briefly flared to life in the dimness._

_‘Why does it look like me?’_

_His opponent snarled at him and pushed against his guard. Levi held, but just barely._

_‘When I was eight I was lost. Alone. In pain.’ Bone gnawing hunger. Soul leeching exhaustion. Heart wrenching despair. ‘All that I wanted was for that bastard to love me. To show some sort of affection, or at the very least, offer some sort of praise. Even only once.’ Cold eyes and thin lips when he did well. Anger and vicious beatings when he didn’t. ‘I pushed myself beyond my limits to please him, all for nothing. It was always a doomed pursuit.’_

_But he’d never given up._

_All he’d wanted was for someone to be there for him._

_He’d only been a child._

_‘That’s it!’ He sidestepped the smaller form, seizing him and pulling him in close as he hurdled by. His attacker let out a yelp of surprise, the knife dropping out of his hand with a hollow clunk. Moments later his shoulders began to shake and he burst into uncontrollable tears, burying his face in the older raven’s chest. Levi sighed and pulled him closer, rocking slowly back and forth. Doing for this illusion of himself what he wished someone had cared enough to do for him all those years before._

_As he rocked the child and stroked his ratty hair Levi began to notice that the volume of his cries and sobs fading into the background, replaced with the ringing sound as the room once more began to pitch and whirl around him._

_‘Not again!’_

_The dark house shattered like glass and he was assailed with waves of light and pain. When his vision faded back into focus he was kneeling, now alone, in the middle of the forest of giant trees. Birds were calling. Insects were humming. Water from the damp glass was soaking into his knees.  He rose to his feet and, feeling the weight of something on his belt and hearing the soft clinking sound, looked down. His eyes widened._

_Hanging from his waist was a set of 3D maneuvering gear, the gas canisters glinting a dull metallic silver in the low light. The handles hung at his sides, dangling from their strings, but the blades were nowhere to be seen. The meters reading the pressure registered both tanks as full._

_‘Let’s hope that this round isn’t against a Titan.’ He pulled the switch blade from his pocket, the sight of the blade glittering in the sun coming as only a small relief. ‘This thing won’t be much against one of those ugly bastards.’ Lowering the blade but keeping it close at hand, Levi looked around. ‘Nothing but a shit load of trees in every direction. No way I’ll get anywhere on foot and best not to use any of the gas until I know what it is I’m dealing with.’_

_If he’d been given gear for this leg of the trial maybe he’d been given something else which could prove equally helpful._

_‘Worth a try.’ Levi stuck two fingers into his mouth and forced a sharp shrill whistle through his teeth. He waited a few moments and then did it again._

_It wasn’t long before the figure of a horse appeared in the distance, rapidly closing in on him in a flurry of hooves and snorts. He wasted no time once it reached him and swung up into the saddle taking off into the trees._

_‘What will it be this time?’ still feeling disconcerted by his earlier encounter, Levi’s eyes darted about between the trees. ‘Where will it come from and when?’_

_Levi had no way of knowing how long he had been there in that forest, no idea if time even functioned the same way in the ‘realm of the Gods’, but it felt like hours. The horse beneath his snorted and huffed as it ran. Trees rushed by. The forest seemed to stretch on forever._

_Then he heard it._

_He barely had time to fire off his gear and ascend into the canopy before a whirl of silver black and green flew by, rebounding off a nearby trunk and rushing at him again. Sword met with switch blade and his hooks came free; he managed to save himself from falling at the last moment, coming to a somewhat unsteady rest on one of the tree’s lowest branches._

_“You just going to fucking stand there, or were you planning on fighting?” the voice sounded from another tree branch slightly overhead, surly and filled with biting disdain. “Don’t think that I’ll give a turncoat any mercy just because you’re armed with the blade equivalent of a micro-dick!”_

_There stood his reflection, glaring at him hawkishly with eyes which glowed silver in the darkness below the canopy. His long blades glittered, the edges deadly sharp, and the dark green cloak hanging about his neck fluttered gently in the breeze._

_“Nothing to say?” he growled, coiling downwards again as he prepared once more to pounce. “I suppose that your silence is for the better. Hardly matters what a blood traitor has to say.”_

_The thunk of metal hooks on thick wood and the hiss of compressed gas as he swooped down towards him again. It was all Levi could do to flee from himself as the much longer blades sheered through the branch that he’d been perched on. It fell to the forest floor below them with a resounding crash._

_“Do you even remember who you are? Where you came from? What they did to you?”_

_The blade hacked deep into the trunk, coming dangerously close to severing one of the wires._

_“What about Isabelle? What about Farlan? What about all of the soldiers you sent in to die?”_

_His doppelgänger nearly nailed him in the back with one of the hooks of his gear._

_“What about all of the people you swore that you’d avenge? Everyone you promised on their death beds that you would eradicate the Titans! And now you would become one?”_

_This time he did catch no one but both of his wires. Levi fell but was low enough down that the drop only left him bruised._

_“How dare you turn your back on humanity!”_

_The green clad specter plummeted towards him like a diving falcon. He didn’t know how but by some miracle he managed to stop both blades with the miniscule knife in his hands. Muscles straining against the other’s strength as he braced against the trunk of one of the great trees._

_“How dare you forget your duty as a solider! Your obligation to-.”_

_“MY OBLIGATION,” he snarled back at the other, “IS TO DO WHAT **I** FEEL IS RIGHT AND MAKE THE CHOICE WITH LEAST REGRETS AS DEFINED BY ME! **NO ONE ELSE!”**_

_Silence. His attacker continued glaring at him in disgust. Then, slowly, he lowered his blades and stepped away._

_“Tch.”_

_Levi kept his coiled stance, eyes locked on his green clad double and grip on his weapon tight. He expected him to come at him from another angle. Below or above. The right or behind where he wouldn’t expect it. Instead, he turned his back on him._

_“At least you haven’t forgotten.” He didn’t sound pleased._

_Levi didn’t answer._

_“You think that you can stop what’s coming our way?” he shook his head. “You’ll never be excepted within the walls again if you go through with this.”_

_He glared._

_“Stubborn? Somethings never change for us, do they?” the rattle of leather and metal as the other tossed the gear that he’d been wearing at his feet. “Switch out with me. That set is broken and armed with nothing but a toothpick you’re not going to make it.” He pulled the hood of the cloak over his head, the wings emblazoned on the back seeming to glow. “Your final test is just ahead.”_

_Between one blink and the next he was gone, replaced by a pair of feathers-one white and the other black-drifting slowly down towards the forest floor._

_Levi acted quickly to change his gear for that of his now vanished double. The weight of both the gas canisters and the spare blades had become almost alien in the time he’d been away. Calling his horse back to him he started off again._

_No sooner had he mounted up again than a deafening clap of thunder rang out from overhead. Rain began to fall as hard that it cut through the canopy and soaked him through in seconds._

_Between the storm, the words of his last opponent and the fact that both of the other two had been in some shape or form a copy of himself Levi felt that he could guess exactly what it was that would be awaiting him. He could only hope that he was wrong._

_He wasn’t._

_A massive hand shot out from the surrounding darkness and swatted his mount from beneath him. The horse screamed. Gas hissed. Levi engaged his gear and he shot up into the branches, turning to scan the rain and dark for the creature responsible and quickly managed to spot its eyes. Red and glowing as it straightened up from its animalistic crouch._

_The Titan stood at about 12 meters tall, its skin lunar pale and its long wild hair flat black. Its face was only vaguely reminiscent of his own. The features more feral. Sharper. More severe. Its lipless mouth all glittering teeth and saber-like fangs. Horns, a mirror of those adorning the head of the War God’s statue, jutted from its head and a forest of smaller spikes-constructs of Titan Crystal-bristled over the back of its neck and across its broad shoulders. Claws adorned the tip of its boney fingers but, what caught his eyes most were the organic blades bristling from its wrists._

_This form would be his?_

_The beast growled, shaking the earth and making the tree beneath his feet quake as it reached for him again. He acted quickly, firing his hooks into its flesh and swinging himself around. Aiming for the nape only to nearly impale himself on the spines._

_‘Fuck!’ He retreated quickly as it reached around for him again. Swinging up onto another tree. ‘There’s no way that I’ll be able to break those things with Human steel! I’d need my Titan Crystal blades to do that.’ The rain made the bark slick under his feet. The Titan below him was not happy to once more have him out of reach. ‘I need to devise a plan quickly. The last time I treated a Shifter like a typical Titan I lost catastrophically. It’s intelligent. Don’t allow yourself to forget that or slip back into old habits.’_

_His future Titan was examining the tree in which he was hiding._

_‘I’ll have to come up with some other way to get to the nape. Those spines-.”_

_The entire tree shook beneath him and Levi nearly pitched backwards off of his perch._

_‘What the-?’ a glance downwards revealed the horrifying reality of what his impatient aggressor was doing. The razor sharp blades which sprouted from its wrists to hack at the tree. The wood coming away in large chunks. Once it had gotten about a third of the way through the trunk it stopped and rammed its shoulder into it. The wood whined and cracked. He lost his footing this time and fell but managed to catch hold of the branch with his right hand._

_Another angry growl rumbled from beneath him._

_‘I need to think of something quickly!’ The claws came dangerously close to lopping off everything below his knees. The razor sharp teeth opened, revealing the black abyss behind them. Wide mouth. Soft fleshy throat._

_There were no spines on the inside. Nothing to impede his blades from cutting as deeply as they had to. Levi fired his gear down into its maw and dove past its gnashing fangs, carving clear through the nape from the inside before plummeting into the darkness a distorted scream echoing in his ears._


	15. Making Chance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi learns the truth behind his parentage. Eren chooses a fairly poor time to talk dirty to his partner.

_His body broke the surface like a stone, plunging into the cold water and sinking to the bottom. His back collided with the tiled floor at the bottom of the pool, the impact forcing the breath from his lungs in a mass of white bubbles. Levi hung suspended and limp for a moment or two before his body started back to life and he flailed upwards, breaking the surface and heaving himself up onto a white marble staircase leading down into the water. Coughing and spluttering as his lungs made way for air. He lay there, panting, until a shadow fell over him._

_Levi raised his head.Before him at the top of the stairs stood the Shifter’s God of War._

_Araon was not entirely what he had expected. He had envisioned something more…imposing, to say the least, than the 6 foot something with warm eyes. Perhaps, at the very least, an equal height to the statue presented of him before his temple in the capital._

_His eyes were dark brown, approaching black, wise and kind though he could tell at a glance that their gaze could be cutting should the need arise. His hair, like his, was black and parted haphazardly about the thick bases of arching horns. He was clad in golden armor and armed with a massive sheathed blade. The cloak on his back was red at first glance, but shimmered with all the colors of the dawn as if the strings had been dyed in the sky at sunrise._

_“Levi.” He spoke with a gentle affection but what caught his focus was how worn and tired that it sounded. His skin prickled. “Close to 40 years, now, I have waited to finally speak with you my child. I wish that I could welcome you home but,” the building shook violently and debris, shaken free from above, fell into the water with a splash, “I am afraid that time is short.”_

_“I-?” Levi squinted through the darkness, trying in vain to bring the other’s image into sharper focus so that he could pinpoint exactly what it was that seemed so very **wrong** about the way he looked. He pushed himself up onto all fours. “Home?”_

_“I knew Leamai would not stay gone forever.” His stance was slightly lopsided, bent partially forwards and to the right as he used his weapon for a cane. “The Pantheon, myself especially, expended most of our strength in the first battle with him and in answering the plea for help sent by those who would rise to become the Empire you know today. Over the centuries what was left of our powers has drained and now they are nearly gone. Each of us reduced to but shadows of what we once were. I knew that to stop them we would need a mortal hero, and that I knew that we couldn’t count on fortuitous chance to see them born in time. So I took things into my own hands.”_

_His mind adamantly refused to process what it was that he was being told as he struggled up onto his feet. “You…? What…?...I’m?”_

_“Yes. Half.”_

_Finally, his eyes adjusted fully to the darkness. His thoughts were racing at sickening speeds. Head spinning again as it had while under the effects of that potion he had had to drink. In order to prevent his mind from shutting down completely he forced himself to focus on the other’s form and felt himself go cold._

_The golden armor that he wore was badly dented. Two massive puncture marks pierced clear through to the flesh below. The surrounding metal smeared in a mixture of blood and something greenish and corrosive. The cloak he wore was bloodied and tattered. His face was pale, drawn and set with pain. One of his horns was broken into a bloody jagged stump, the other cracked almost clear through to its base._

_“What…happened to you?”_

_The badly wounded God grimaced. “Even when their physical bodies die eternals do not disappear forever. Leamai is at my gate, seeking vengeance for himself and to weaken the Empire. He plans to slaughter each of us, one by one, so that they will have no one left to call to for help.” He rested more weight against the blade. “I’ve been cut off from the others and have no way to send for help. Not that it will matter, now. I don’t have long, with these wounds.”_

_With difficulty he turned and began to hobble down the dark corridor, steps unsteady and pace irregular. Levi hurried to catch up._

_“We must act quickly. My defenses will not keep him at bay for much longer and he cannot be allowed to catch you too.” The amount of weight he had to put on the banister in order to haul himself up the stairs was more than concerning. The smaller raven was of half a mind to think he’d have to catch the God when he fell backwards and drag him the rest of the way to the top._

_The room that met them was cavernous, even more so than the palace was, with high windows set into the eastern wall and a font of crystal clear water welling in one corner. A throne stood against the far wall and not far from it was a perch. Empty, but for a handful of bloody brown feathers._

_“The chalice.” He gestured weakly at the cup which rested on the edge of the font. “Fill it. Make haste.”_

_He did as he was told as the building shook again, more debris dislodging from the ceiling and clattering against the floor. Cracks were appearing in the walls. The water was bitingly cold as he dipped the chalice, and his hand with it, below the surface. It filled the heavy cup. Perfectly clear, like glass. The heavy sound of metal hitting tile made him turn, nearly spilling the contents down his front._

_The War God had fallen to his knees, hunched forwards and gasping slightly with each breath. Hesitantly, he approached him. When Araon lifted his head Levi saw that his face had gone from white to ashen grey._

_“You’ve defeated your doubts: worth, obligation and discipline. Proven your strength and purified your spirit. You’re ready to Ascend. Drink. Hurry!”_

_The biting chill persisted as he swallowed, warming rapidly only once it had pooled in his stomach. Heating up. Beginning to boil. A hot itch spreading through him that, though not quite painful, was enough to make him writhe._

_Another thunderous bang. The cracks grew to fissures. Debris was replaced with full sized stones._

_“You must go. Before-!”_

_The wall exploded inwards, jagged shards of rock the size of his fists slamming against him as dust thickened the air. A low heavy thud of something dropping onto tile, accompanied by a chilling rasping sound. And then, through the clearing dust, the diamond shaped head of the massive serpent reared upwards on its coils. Black scales glittering in the low light. Soulless eyes fixated on the God’s bowed form._

_He watched in horror as the shade of the beast struck forwards. Once, knocking the War God to the ground. Twice, three foot fangs punching once more through armor and into the yielding meat beneath it. Three times. Araon went limp. Blood spread across the dark tile._

_A long forked tongue flicked out to taste the air before the creature turned to face him. It swayed back and forth as it stared. Appraising him._

_“Did you not hear your Sire, whelp? Go! Unless you’d rather that I kill you now.” Its coils slowly tightened around the limp form, crushing metal and bone and squeezing out what life might still remain. The image in front of him was beginning to blur, becoming fuzzy around the edges and difficult to keep in focus. Sound dropping in pitch and definition. “Bite and claw all that you wish, little Godling. You can’t save the Empire. Nor can you save your precious walls!”_

He sat bolt upright with a hoarse swear, nearly knocking over Armin when he noticed him kneeling beside where he lay sprawled across the Temple floor. Panicked and confused Levi pounced, grabbing the blonde and shaking him roughly, words spilling out into an unintelligible rush which even he couldn’t understand. The other Shifter gently extricated himself and tried to calm him.

                “Levi, you’re delirious from stress. Please, whatever it is that concerns you can be explained tomorrow once you’ve calmed down. You need to rest!”

                Rest? He was shaking. Frozen. Soaked from the rain and the fountain.

                No.

                He was soaked in sweat. Cold and sticky and disgusting and despite the situation he couldn’t help but squirm.

                Situation?

                What situation? There wasn’t any way possible that what he’d been through could actually be real. Fighting with himself three separate times? Seeing and speaking to a God and a Monster? He hadn’t got to the ‘realm of the Gods’ he’d taken a trip into his own head courtesy of whatever the hell that blue liquid was.

                At least, that’s what he tried to tell himself.

                He forcibly stopped himself from continuing his attempts to make the blonde stay put long enough for him to vocalize the now jumbled sequence of events he couldn’t fully remember seeing and set his hands into his lap.

                “You’re right.”

                It wasn’t real. None of it was real.

                So why did it seem so wrong to him, sitting there on the floor of the Temple of a dead God?

                Why did he feel such pointed dread?

                Levi rose, slightly unsteady, to his feet and Armin followed his example. Watching the raven carefully as he peeled away the fabric which had struck the front of his chest, ready to catch him if he fell. “Is it over, then?”

                “Yes. It’s over. You’re one of us.” Armin offered him a small smile that didn’t quite make it to his eyes. He knew when he saw it that he wasn’t the only one who had picked up on how wrong everything suddenly felt. “How do you feel?”

                “Like I need a fucking shower!” He growled, pulling at his clothes again. They stubbornly refused to stop sticking. “And like I need to make sure Eren didn’t have a total panic attack while I was away.”

                He nodded and left descending the stairs only to be met by Mikasa who said nothing and handed him the reigns. It was dawn. The sun had just begun to rise as he made it back to the castle, spreading gentle colors through the darkness of the starry night.

                After stowing the horse in the stable Levi made his way to Eren’s room and quietly pushed open the door to peer inside. The brunet had dozed off curled around a pillow and sitting up in a chair, facing towards the door in a clearly failed effort to wait for him. He shook his head and quietly padded across the room, hoisting the other’s lanky body into his arms and gently lying him back on the mattress.

                “Beds are for sleeping, Eren. Not chairs.” Though he himself had practically made a habit of sleeping at his desk back at the walls. “I’ll be in in a bit, brat.”

                Stopping by his room long enough to grab a set of dry clothes he made for the baths and quickly slipped into the hot water of one of the massive tubs. Up to his neck in steam and water he relaxed against the tile side, eyes drifting closed and head drooping to one side as he struggled again to push away that damned feeling of dread that wouldn’t leave him be.

                His familiar touch jolted him back to full awareness, opening his eyes to find himself staring at an inverted image of Eren’s face. The brunet was on his hands and knees on the lip of the tub behind him, one of his hands resting on his cheek and currently serving as the only thing keeping his head above water.

                “Careful.” He said softly, a small smile playing at his lips as Levi straightened up. You may be a Shifter now but you don’t have gills.”

                “Do you think I wouldn’t notice if my head went under shit head? I’m not about to drown in the fucking tub!” He snapped. “I thought you were asleep.”

                “I was.” Eren slid into the warm water beside him, settling down and stretching out his long legs in front of him. “But you woke me up when you came in and tucked me back into bed.”

                “You’ll thank me later Eren. Speaking from experience, sleeping in a chair is a bitch.”

                He didn’t laugh but sat forwards and peered into his face. “You look terrible, Levi.” The exhaustion caught up with him again and he leaned more heavily against his companions shoulder. Eren pulled him into his lap and allowed him to rest against his chest. “What happened?” He spoke against the shell of his ear, relishing the raven’s muscled body as it shuddered against him.

                “The Ascension.” He told him slowly. Voice soft. “It was…trying.”

                “Trying?” Canine teeth scraped gently down the column of his throat. “Yes. They do say it is.” Teeth replaced by a wet pink tongue. The fleshy muscle tracing down over his pulse point. Mapping out the contours of his muscles. Tasting his skin. “What did you go through?”

                “Nothing that should concern you.”

                “Oh, come on.” Eren bit down. Teeth sinking in just to the brink of breaking the skin. “You can tell me.”

                “Eren.” Levi’s attempt to sound authoritative was undermined by a throaty moan.

                “Yes?”

                “Why do you want to know, brat?”

                “I’m just curious.” The way that he said it went straight to his groin. Eren slipped out from underneath him, moving around to the front instead. “Tell me.”

                Damn manipulative little brat! “I had to face myself. My past selves. And my potential future one.”

                “Past selves?” he cocked his head. “Would that include the soldier you?”

                “Maybe, why? Got a uniform kink I didn’t know about?”

                “Uniform? Straps, actually.” He licked his lips, “I never got to see your Legion uniform in its full glory but I can imagine that you look amazing in leather.”

                “Don’t you dare get any ideas about tampering with my clothes, shit head!”

                “That wasn’t what I was thinking.”

                Another shudder went through him. “Then what were you thinking?”

                “I have an idea or two. But put simply, I could have _a lot_ of fun with two of you.”

                “Oh really?” he couldn’t deny the fact that he was suddenly very interested. “What kind of ‘fun’?”

                “Well,” a warm hand ran delicately along the inside of his thigh. “You remember what it felt like when I sucked you off, don’t you? What it looked like?” his hand stopped maddeningly close, thumb rubbing teasing circles into the smooth flesh. “You haven’t gotten around to it so I won’t ask if you remember what it looks or feels like to take my from behind but if there’s two of you that means both ends at once.”

                He could imagine it vividly. Could clearly see the brunet on all fours, peering up at him through those unforgettable eyes lips pink and wet and molded around the contours of his throbbing length. Mewling and licking as the doppelgänger that had attacked him in the forest drove into him. He wasn’t sure if he was jealous of himself or in awe of his own stamina.

                “What was the other idea?”

                “You could make out and I could watch. Though, I suppose, I could just set you loose on a mirror.”

                “Filthy brat!”

                Eren stuck his tongue out at him.

                “Are we actually going to do something or were you merely planning on impeding both of our sleep schedules just for the sake of talking dirty to me?”

                “Now that you ask I suppose that we may as well.” The brunet shifted position again, this time straddling his lap. Levi opened his mouth to demand an explanation but Eren cut him off. “Relax.” His hands ran through the other’s short black hair comfortingly. “You trust me, don’t you? I won’t hurt you. But I want to try something different this time.”

                “I don’t care what you say or do, I am _not_ sticking my tongue down a mirror’s throat!

                Eren laughed. “We’re in the tub together. I’m not letting that go to waste to try and get a sheet of glass.” He leaned in and kissed him quickly. “Not to mention that I’d much rather have your lips on me than on your 2D reflection.”

                “Then what are you planning?” the other was massaging his scalp. Continuing to stroke the fingers of his left hand through his hair. Warm soft lips spattering more smaller kisses along his cheeks. Eren’s other hand had vanished behind his back. “Eren?”

                “You’ll see. Hold on.” Soft brown hair brushed against his face and shoulders. “You’ve been through a lot tonight and need to rest. Just leave all of the effort to me.”

                He felt his partner shift his position up off his lap and then sat down again. Slowly. Sliding down onto the raven’s shaft. Levi’s nails broke the skin of Eren’s back, unable to fully silence the groan as Eren hissed softly. He had to hold himself back from thrusting upwards into the tight heat and gave the other time to adjust to the intrusion.

                “Are you alright?”

                Small pinpricks of clear water had welled up in the corners of his Caribbean eyes but despite this Eren nodded. “I’m alright. It doesn’t hurt, really.” He said. “It’s just…you’re a little bigger than I thought.” The brunet lifted himself up off of him a little, the let himself slip down again. The whimper he tried to hide didn’t go unnoticed by the raven underneath him.

                “Eren.” Now it was his turn to reach up and cup the other’s face in his hands. “Don’t hurt yourself.”

                “Really.” One of his hands found Levi’s hip, the other resting against his chest. “I’m alright.”

                “I-.”

                “Please. Move.”

                He looked at him. Eren stared back, those beautiful blue-green eyes expectant of his next move. Carefully Levi lifted his hips.

                The sound that he made was halfway between a croon and a yelp but registered as anything but pain. He arched his back and tilted his head back over his shoulder. Eyes half-lidded and rolling. Mouth open and lips wet as he gasped and panted. Squirming wildly in his lap and sloshing water everywhere.

                Once it was all over and he’d come down from his high Levi freed himself from the limp brunet and hauled himself out of the water to grab a towel. Eren simply propped himself up against the tile wall.

                “Please tell me you’re not about to sit in that disgusting shit.”

                The other Shifter blinked at him in confusion. “Um…Water?”

                “That is _not_ just water! Not anymore!”

                Eren glanced at the water he was sitting in, shrugged and then pulled himself out as well.

                “So much for your plan to get clean.”

                “Lost cause thanks to a certain brat.”

                Entirely unrepentant, he smiled. “Don’t pretend you didn’t enjoy the ‘inconvenience’. Let’s head to bed.”

                Even with as tired as he was sleep was slow in coming.


	16. Gathering Storm

Levi hadn’t waited for Eren to wake up that morning. He leapt up and changed quickly before rushing out to the stables and mounting the first horse that he could coax free of its stall. In the early hours of the day there was no one out on the streets to risk running over she he didn’t bother to mind his speed. He nearly broke his ankle dismounting on the move, leaving the horse to run itself to a stop and do as it pleased.

                He mounted the staircase at a run, the collision of flesh and wood barely registering as painful as the doors swung wide.

                “I had figured I wouldn’t have to wait long before you came back.” Armin was sitting in the darkness, watching the door. It was clear that he had been waiting for him. “This place was left…empty since you awoke. You were near in hysterics last night and I couldn’t get anything out of you that was coherent.” His blue eyes followed the raven as he made his way towards him. “Now that you’ve had the chance to calm down and process what you’ve been through I had hoped you could tell me what happened.”

                “Nothing happened.” Even the denial felt half-hearted. “Everything I saw last night was a hallucination.”

                “Even you don’t believe that Levi.”

                He continued to stare at the blonde for a while longer before sighing and sinking down at the foot of one of the idols. “It was real?”

                “Yes. It was real.”

                “Then he’s really dead?” The other Shifter stiffened. “He was badly hurt by the time that I arrived. Not long after that Leamai broke in and…”

                “He isn’t gone forever, Levi. Gods can never truly die. That is what it means to be immortal. Which is why we still have to contend with Leamai.”

                “So you’re saying that he’ll come back?”

                Armin nodded and pushed himself back onto his feet.

                “And how long is that going to take?”

                “Long enough that the news is still dire. Decades. Centuries, perhaps.” He struck a match and lit a candle, then went on to use the lit candle to ignite more. “And if he has gone after one of them he’ll go after more. We will have to fight this war without our Gods.”

                The candle holder met with the altar with a heavy clunk as it was set down again. “I assume that, as you’re one of us now, the Ascension went through before the attack?”

                “By the skin of its teeth.”

                “So you were provided the chance to speak with him?”

                A reluctant nod.

                “Were you provided any useful information? Anything that might help us dismantle the Adherents. Anything to shed light on their plans.”

                “No.” He watched the other wilt slightly. “…But I did discover who my Father was.”

                Armin went from concern and fear to staring at him in open surprise. “A DemiGod?”

                “There’s a word for it?”

                “Yes!” Levi almost regretted bringing it up as the blonde had gone from near depressed to suddenly manic, reminding him startlingly of Hanji. He was rushing back and forth, putting things down and picking things up and running back and forth, putting things down and picking things up and going through his daily routine at a speed as if he’d been lit on fire. “A Demi-God. Half God and Half Human, but capable of far more than a normal human ever would be. It hasn’t happened since before our ancient ancestors became Shifters.”

                Armin collided with one of the large candles as he passed it by, upsetting it on its stand and sending it lurching to the left. Levi lunged forwards to catch the candle before it could fully fall, spilling melted wax over his hand.

                He hissed in pain and withdrew, ripping off the dried wax and watching the skin bubble up blister and then disappear entirely.

                “It explains so much of what you have been able to do!” He yelped, flinging the metal decanter almost wildly around his head. The raven retreated a few steps out of fear of the smoking metal sphere making contact with the side of his head. “If you were just ‘Championed’ like we originally thought you’d only have on gift: the rage. But Mikasa says you have demonstrated other abilities, like combat insight during your fight with the assassin. You can’t possibly have known where that cave was yet from what you described you ran right to it. And then there’s the eagle!”

                Where was that damn bird anyway? He’d forgotten to check if it had returned before he’d left and had left the window open.

                “Could it be possible that Himmel was his personal servant?”

                “I doubt that.” He had little doubt that, had the bloodied feathers belonged to his bird, the venom of the War God’s attacker would have killed it. “I found him nearly four years ago. Even a God wouldn’t have been able to hold out for that long with the wounds that he had.”

                “Something else seems to be bothering you.” The blonde had managed to force himself to a stop.

                “I spoke briefly with the snake bastard as well.” He admitted slowly after another moment. “What he said…I have reason to fear that the Adherents may be planning to attack the walls.”

                “And you fear for them, even though they are no longer your people.” When the raven looked away without answering Armin chuckled. “It doesn’t make you weak, Levi. Instead, it’s the hallmark of a good King to care not only for his own but for his enemies as it ensures that when you fight them it will be with honor.”

                “I’ll never see anyone from the walls again, let alone get into a fight with them. So what does honor matter?”

                “None of us know what the future holds. Especially in times such as these. There is no telling what, or to where, the Adherents might drive us.”

                “I am not going to let them take the fucking city! I don’t care what they try!”

                The blonde offered this statement a weak smile. “I think that you should speak to the King in regards to your concerns.”

                “I think you’re right.” He said. “If there’s nothing else.”

                “No, nothing else for now. I’ve a lot to do-best to keep to routine to prevent others from panicking-so if you’ll please excuse me?”

                The pair parted ways, Armin resuming his usual activities and Levi heading back into the castle. Fully expecting that Eren hadn’t so much as attempted to wake up yet, he proceeded towards the throne room instead hoping to take care of his concerns before he found himself once more shadowed by a brunet distraction.

                Voices, low and hostile, were issuing from behind the door. Curiosity wrapping its coils around him, Levi edged forwards far enough to peer through the crack into the room. Eren’s father stood before his throne, bristling with anger and glaring down at the royal advisor as he paced and gestured. The sight of the man alone was enough to sour his mood completely. He’d never liked the sharp boned ferret-like man. Especially not after all the times Eren had told him of the man’s efforts to see him ‘dealt with’ as a human should be.

                There is nothing left that you could possibly say against it now! Levi is one of us! Not to mention his status as the Warlord of our Clan! It will go through!”

                “Go through? By the Gods, Grisha, have you lost your mind?” He snarled, unruffled by the evident anger in the King’s eyes. “Ascended or not Ascended doesn’t make a difference! He isn’t really one of us and never will be! He’s a cur from the walls! Of _their_ blood! And you would allow your son to breed with him? Pollute your bloodline with filth?”

                “Enough!” Even Levi jumped from his place behind the door, despite the shout not being aimed at him. “This neither your decision nor your place!”

                “You, Jaeger, will lead us all to ruin!”

                “ _I suggest you remember how to hold your tongue, before I have you stripped of rank and removed from the Capital!”_

For a moment that seemed to stretch forever the much thinner Shifter stood his ground, fury and hatred visible in his eyes. Then he grated out an “I apologize, my Lord,” which was entirely insincere and stormed out of the throne room without waiting to be dismissed.

                Levi, still lurking just outside the doors, couldn’t quite get out of the way in time and was very nearly bowled over.

                “Oi!” He snarled, furious as he managed to catch his balance at the last possible second. “You got a fucking problem with me, bastard?”

                The man looked down his beak-like nose at him with an expression of absolute disgust, muttered “disgusting” and flounced off.

                _Fuck you too._ Annoyed, he straightened his clothes and-despite his mood-cautiously edged into the throne room. Keeping his grey eyes locked on the brunet’s still fuming father, fully prepared to bolt if necessary.

                “Levi.” Though Grisha’s voice was tight and strained, he sounded only tired. Not angry. “You overheard?”

                Not a question. He knew.

                “What that bastard thinks of me was never much of a secret. Eren made his grievances and opinions on the matter known.”

                “Secret or not speaking in such a way of the man who will one day be his King is unacceptable.” The other growled. “Is there something that I can help you with?”

                “During my Ascension…something occurred about which I have already consulted Armin. And I have good reason to believe that the Adherent bastards may have turned their attention onto the walls.” Levi told him slowly. “I know that their plight is not your concern and that they’re not…’my people’ anymore. But I’ve friends there. Many of them people whom I still care about; who don’t deserve to die. I know that I’m asking too much-.”

                “You were hoping for permission to extend your authority over our military strength beyond the Empire’s territory? To protect the walls and your former Kingdom?”

                Levi nodded.

                “Given our current state of alarm due to the Adherent’s movements that is not possible.” Grisha told him. “However, once we have sufficiently routed their direct efforts against us I will grant you that permission if you still feel it necessary.”

                “Thank you, Sir.” Having to hope and pray nothing would happen before hand didn’t sit well with him but Levi knew that it was the best he would get. “I apologize for my intrusion.”

                “Intrusion? More like fortuitous arrival. I was about to send for you when he started going off on yet another tangent of nonsense.” Eren’s father informed him. “I need to speak with you, Levi.”

                The raven raised his head again, locking eyes with the King.

                “The date of your Ascension could not be freely moved forwards. But the date of your marriage can be. And due to recent events, and my own fears of what my soon occur, I feel it would be best to do so.”

                “If not sometime in the following year, when will the brat and I be tying the knot?” A week? A month?

                “You will marry my son tomorrow.” His head snapped up sharply, catching sight of the grimness of the other man’s expression. “You’ll be allowed a few days together afterwards. And then I’ll have to send you off to lead our people in war.”

                Levi stared as exactly what he’d said slowly sunk in. Then he nodded. “I understand.”

                “Levi.”

                “Yes?”

                “If my son hasn’t yet woken when you go back to him, please. Let him sleep. Between the excitement and the worry he won’t be getting much of it once he learns of the events to come.”

                He nodded, posture sagging slightly as he head back towards the doors. “You’re right.” He said. “I will.”

                They’d slept in Eren’s room the night before given its close proximity to the bathrooms. When he re-entered the room he found the brunet still out cold, sprawled out below the heavy forest green comforter thrown over the mattress and sheets. His entire body was utterly relaxed and he was snoring softly into one of the pillows.

                Careful, this time, not to disturb his partner he ran through the wild brunet hair as he passed him by on the way around the foot of the bed before sliding back beneath the covers beside him. The following day would be stressful for numerous different reasons, but for now he could content himself with sleeping beside his lover.


	17. Party Crashing

Sasha stumbled into the room, shell-shocked and looking like she’d been picked up rattled and then set down by a violent windstorm. Her brown hair was even more wild looking than usual, many of the strands attempting to escape from its usual tail. Her amber eyes appeared wet and unfocused, her armor was askew and for probably the first time either had seen her she _wasn’t_ eating something.

                The pair exchanged glances. Though well aware that, at the fault of the ridiculously early morning, neither of them exactly looked their best but both more than sure that they looked better than her.

                “Um, Sasha,” Marco piped up finally as the young Shifter stumbled across the room towards them. “What…happened?”

                The door swung open again with a whoosh and a creak. It didn’t bang against the stone wall opposite but with the way all three jumped a passerby would have thought that it had. Both boys watched warily as the answer stalked into the room.

                “I made it painfully clear that your _timely_ presence was integral prior to dismissing the three of you last night.” Mikasa’s tone was bitingly cold, her eyes like molten silver as she stared them down. As usual she was clad in full armor but instead of the normal slate grey it was high polished argent with a decorative crimson trim and the royal crest inscribed across the breast plate. “I found her sleeping. Still. Such slothful behavior will not be tolerated on a day like this, by any of you! Am I clear?”

                Unsure of whether or not they were expected to answer all three remained silent. Clearly this was the wrong choice, as her glare only intensified.

                “I asked you a question.” She growled. “Am. I. Clear?”

                “Y-Yes Guard Captain!”

                “I hope that’s not just hot air.” Her boots delivered punishing clanks as she crossed the room from the doorway. As she passed him by Jean couldn’t help but notice that her blade was freshly sharpened. “You all remember, I trust, that today is the occasion of Prince Eren’s marriage to our Warlord?”

                “Yes, Guard Captain!”

                “And that this, for the Adherent bastards, will be an event of highest priority to…make a nuisance of themselves.”

                “Yes, Guard Captain!”

                “As Guard Captain and, more importantly, the Captain of the Prince’s personal guard-which I suspect that none of you have forgotten you’re a part of-it’s my job to have any and all preparations made in case of the event that the worst possible occurs. I have reason to believe that the wedding will not go unhindered.” Her cloak rippled sharply above her shoulders when she came to a sudden stop. “It is our job to ensure that the ceremony goes through and that no harm comes to the King, Queen, or the Royal Couple!”

                “Yes, Guard Captain! What are our orders?”

                “I will inform you all in detail of my plans of just what it is we will do to defend them later, as once I’ve done so I will expect each of you to depart to your assigned position.” Mikasa’s tone was sharp. “As tonight is a formal event all in attendance are required to dress accordingly. Even the guard. Report to me with your armor, your _correct_ armor, on and polished and your blades sharpened. You have one hour.”

                “Yes, Guard Captain!”

                “Dismissed!”

                Seemingly still caught in a daze after whatever tongue lashing she’d received Sasha stumbled away from them and wandered off down the hall. Jean and Marco again looked over at each other and shrugged.

                “Polishing armor is always a pain, especially when it’s as reflective as the formal set.” He complained as they walked together towards their rooms. “I always end up getting fingerprints all over it!”

                “If that’s really what’s happening you’ve been going about it wrong.” Marco’s smirk was good natured. “Come to my room once you’ve grabbed your armor and I’ll help you.”

                “Thanks.” Jean told the other honestly. “There is no way that I would get it done otherwise in only an hour and I’d rather not have done to me whatever Mikasa did to Sasha.”

                “I don’t even want to _know_ what it was that she did, let alone be on the receiving end of it.” He replied with a chuckle. “Grab your whetstone too. I’ll handle your armor while you sharpen your sword.”

                The ash blonde smiled at his friend before heading back to his own room to retrieve his whetstone and bright silver armor. Jean found Marco kneeling on the wooden floor in the middle of his room, staring at a piece of his own armor with a far off look and somewhat wistful smile on his face.

                “What?”

                He started slight when he spoke, turning to face him and dropping the metal with a hollow clank. “Nothing.” Marco’s face had returned to normal but his voice retained that distant quality. “It’s nothing.”

                “Seems to be bothering you quite a bit, for ‘nothing’.”

                “It’s not important.” The other flopped onto the floor beside him. “Just…it’s stupid. There’s no way we’d have the time.”

                “The time to what?” Jean sounded curious as he removed his armor bit by bit from the bag he’d used to lug it there.

                “To dance.”

                “Dance?” the ash blonde smirked at his friend. “Why would you want to? The woman you like gonna be there?”

                “I…” a faint blush had begun to become evident beneath his freckles. “Man, actually. And…yes. He will be.”

                “Who is he?”

                “…Not anyone that you know.”

                “Does he know?”

                “Know?” his tone was almost a squeak, blush intensifying as he snatched up a piece of Jean’s armor and hastily began polishing it. “N-No! He doesn’t know. I haven’t told him.”

                “Why the hell not?”

                “Because he wouldn’t be interested in me even if he did know.”

                “I find that hard to imagine.” Pulling his sword from it’s sheathe and setting it across his lap he began to run the whet stone along the edge. “You’re a great guy, Marco.”

                “He isn’t interested in men.”

                “What makes you say that?”

                “W-Well,” he swallowed heavily and picked up another piece. “It’s simple, really. He’s into women.”

                “That doesn’t mean that he can’t be into men too.” Pulling back the stone he examined the blade for a while before returning to sharpening it.

                “On top of that he’s already interested in someone else.”

                “Sounds like an ass to me.”

                The raven laughed as he set aside another piece. “If you knew who it was that I was talking about you wouldn’t say that.”

                “I thought you said I didn’t know him.” Jean quirked an eyebrow. Marco only laughed and, happy to have him smiling again, the other didn’t press the matter despite his curiosity.

                Jean wound up sharpening both of their blades as thanks for the raven’s assistance with the armor.

                By the time both tasks were finished they were nearly running late, and so the pair rushed back through the halls in order to avoid Mikasa’s wrath.

 

                The next person who touched him would lose a limb.

                Levi’s spite-filled glower seemed to silently communicate this message with deadly clarity as the woman who had been approaching him with yet another pallet of who knew what stopped short and backed away.

                Sighing heavily and shifting in his seat, limbs made uncomfortably stiff by being forced to sit still for hours on end in a handful of permutations on the same position, Levi demanded “are you fucking finished yet?”

                He hoped so. He’d already been sitting in that God forsaken room for a mindfuckingly long time. They’d spirited him out of bed just before dawn, another part kidnapping Eren who was none-too-pleased at having his sleep disturbed, and had been held there for the day’s entire duration. If he wasn’t freed soon he’d wind up late to his own wedding.

                That would not result in a happy brat.

                “Yes, my Lord.” One of his captors-attendants-said, holding up an opal encrusted mirror. “If your appearance is to your satisfaction we’ll show you to the grand ballroom.”

                Whatever the hell they’d spent the entire day putting on him he certainly had an effect. The features of his pale face had become somehow more pronounced. Some sort of red ink had been used to rim his eyes making their gunmetal color far more pronounced and even seem to glow. His raven hair was as short and neat as ever and carefully arranged into its perfect off-center part.

                Unlike back at the walls the Shifter’s marital ceremonies were not suit and dress affairs. Levi was surprised to find that his plated formal wear covered far more of him than his battle armor did. Like the other set it was black but held the polished sheen of liquid onyx and was rimmed in pale blue markings which luminesced softly in short pulsing intervals. A dress sword-a light, utterly useless rapier with a basket hilt and a blade approximately the width of a toothpick-hung at his hip.

                He wished for the comforting weight of the solid, workable Titan Crystal blades across his back. Even knowing that he now had his own quite formidable Titan, it would have eased his nerves to know that he had viable weapons on hand in case something went wrong.

                “My appearance is fine.” He wanted Eren. A full day without the Prince had nearly been too much for his sanity to bare. “The ceremony is going to begin soon. We need to make haste.”

                His ‘escort’ didn’t really get to do much escorting. Levi had a good enough knowledge of where it was that he pulled ahead and managed to locate the room in question on his own. His tormentors had vanished by the time that he had reached the door and Levi found that he was glad for it. As he swept into the room, presence massive despite his small size, the first thing that he noticed was Mikasa. The ravenette was dressed in the silver and crimson armor which made up the formal attire of the Royal Guard, eyes wary and alert as she felt into step behind him. A swift scan of the large room picked out the forms of Jean, Marco and Sasha scattered in amongst the crowd. He smiled at her. Mikasa said nothing but responded with a barely perceptible nod so he knew that she had seen it.

                A table had been erected atop the slightly raised platform in the front of the room. Draped with a white table cloth, the only thing occupying it was a candleholder bearing up what looked like a foot long razor blade. He eyed it as he reached the front of the room, removing his gaze after a few moments and bowing before his soon to be in-laws.

                Carla smiled at him as Grisha nodded. Mikasa had vanished back into the crowd. “Eren should be in at any moment.” She assured him.

                Just at the moment the doors swung open again, allowing Eren into the room in all his glory. He, too, had clearly been subjected to the same treatment as Levi himself had as his skin seemed even more bronzed than he remembered it and his blue-green eyes were nearly blinding. His armor was a deep earthen brown with a molten golden fringe that almost seemed to slither and shift as he moved. Golden cloak fluttering behind as he sauntered forward towards him, a sword of his own at his hip and looking more beautiful than Levi had ever seen him.

                He took hold of him once he reached the front of the room and pulled the shorter raven close. When Eren tried to duck in and kiss him Levi turned his head away just enough to invade him.

                “Vows first, shit head.” He said. “I’ve missed you too, but you need to be patient.”

                “Vows?” he snickered. “We don’t have vows. Not, at least, the way that your walls seem to.” A tilt of his chin indicated the blade. “Our marital vows are made in iron and blood, not words. Did Armin not teach you that?”

                “I was worried about Ascension and nothing else. And every time he tried to stray off of the necessary subject matter…”

                The brunet laughed lightly. A soft sound which echoed warmly in his ears. “Couples here do not parrot back words which may or may not hold actual meaning to them. When we take our partners we suffer together. Mix blood so that we run through each other’s veins. Scar so that we don’t forget.” His eyes fell on the blade again. “It’s been sterilized in fire so you won’t have to worry about it being dirty…But that means it will still be hot.”

                _Shit._ He was beginning to understand exactly what purpose the blade was meant for. Eren had removed the gauntlet of his right hand. Reluctantly the raven did the same.

                The brunet took his bared hand, his much longer fingers enveloping it as they slid between his own. The brunet lifted it far enough to place a quick kiss against the back of his hand. “You ready?”

                “No. But its best we get it over with.”

                Both turned to face the blade.

                “So…” Levi trailed off, eyeing the maiming device with poignant mistrust. “How are we going to do this? You gonna do it…or should I?”

                “Both of us. Together.” Eren said. “Clean through both our hands. And we can’t pull free immediately either since it has to scar.” He was looking at it nervously as well. “I’d say 30 seconds should be long enough.”

                Impale his own hand on a just slightly below red hot blade and leave it there for 30 seconds? “…If one of us hesitates…it would be bad.”

                “Yes.” Eren gulped. “Very?”

                “…” heat was visibly rising off the point of the metal. “We’ve had worse.”

                “We have.” He replied. “But that doesn’t make it easier! I’m not a masochist Levi!”

                “Good to know. I’m not either.” Silence. “Count of three then?” reluctantly the other nodded. “One…”

                “T-Two.”

                “Three!”

                At the angle their hands fell the blade pierced Levi’s hand first. The weapon was iron, not Titan Crystal, but was far keener than anything from the walls and pierced through skin muscle and bone with ease. His hand continued down until it collided with the base. A quiet hissing sound rose up as the heat seared the flesh the faint sheen of steam thickening as it was joined by that produced by the instant reaction of their bodies’ healing factor.

                Then the pain hit. The raven’s teeth clamped down on each other with a sharp click, coming dangerously close to catching his tongue between them. Eren whined softly, his hand spasming in Levi’s grip as both fought the urge to rip the offending object free of their bodies. Their combined blood had painted the dark metal a rich shade of red. He could feel the thick viscous liquid pooling between their clasped hands, mixing together and coating the insides of the matching holes it left in its wake. 30 seconds seemed like an eternity, and when it finally passed the pair couldn’t pull it free fast enough.

                More steam. A strange crawling feeling as his skin knit itself back together. And then there was nothing left but a perfectly round silver scar in the center of his hand.

                Levi’s grey eyes turned to Eren and locked with his slightly watering ones. “So you’re my husband now?”

                Eren nodded and the raven couldn’t help but suspect the watering was from more than pain as he pulled him into his arms. “I’m your husband now.”

                “Is there going to be a party or does all of this end with public self-mutilation?” Music starting up from their right answered his question.

                “Party or no party, if you want it to end at ‘self-mutilation’ it can. Nothing is requiring us to stay past this point.” He smirked suggestively. “We could just-.”

                “There’s going to be a full two days, starting tomorrow, where we’ll be doing nothing but each other. You can wait a few more hours.” Eren turned bright red and Levi dragged him out onto the floor. “We need to at least make an appearance. Dance a little bit with at least a few people. Provided you don’t fuck up, you only get married once in your life.”

                The brunet snorted as he regained his footing. “You know how to dance, Levi?”

                “Don’t sound surprised, brat! Soldiers were required to know how to do more than fight where I come from. And I’ve been dragged more than a few of the Military Police’s stupid balls by Erwin to have plenty of practice.”

                Eren frowned as they spun across the floor.

                “I’m sorry. I know you don’t appreciate it when I mention him.”

                “He’s a part of your past and I try to respect that. But hearing about your husband’s ex on your wedding night-.”

                “You’re right. I’m sorry.” He said softly. “At least you’ll never have to meet him.”

                “For his sake, that is a good thing.” Eren’s tone was dangerous and his eyes promised pain. In an effort to distract him Levi pulled him down for a kiss.

                “Being a Prince I take it that you were not only schooled in music and sword play but dance as well?” When Eren nodded he smirked. “Well then, shall we see which one of us can better prance?”

                As his face broke into a smile the darkness fell away. “Is that a challenge, Levi?”

                “If I told you that yes, it was, what would you do?”

                “Prance circles around you!”

                Taking part in a highly competitive dance battle while simultaneously being partners in a waltz was a great deal more difficult than either had anticipated. Throughout the handful of songs that they kept this up their received numerous side-long glances but neither cared. Too caught up in each other to mind.

                It ended in a draw when Mikasa and Sasha suddenly appeared out of the crowd beside them.

                “All due respect my Lords, it is courtesy that you extend your company to others on the dance floor as well as their partner.”

                Eren had already reluctantly released his hold on Levi and vanished back into the crowd with Sasha. Mikasa was clearly gauging his reaction.

                The raven simply shook his head and resumed following the flow of the dancing around them, this time with a different partner.

                “You’re right. I had to distract the brat from ruminating on his fantasies of how best he’d prefer to murder my ex and I suppose I simply lost track of time.” He told her with a sigh. “I noticed the measures that you went to and I appreciate them. I apologize for failing to be present to oversee their implementation personally.”

                Her smile was only barely noticeable. “It’s your wedding night, Levi. No one expected you to be able to get away from the planners once they’d sunk their claws into you. You shouldn’t have deluded yourself otherwise.”

                He snorted. “That’s me. Delusional.” A brief flash of brown and silver out of the corner of his eye. “I must say that I’m surprised.”

                “Surprised? At what?”

                “At the fact that you actually managed to drag her away from the food.”

                “As a member of your personal guard she needs to learn to prioritize what is actually important!”

                Levi chuckled. “If that’s the case, in her opinion she doesn’t need to shift her focus at all.”

                Mikasa frowned in answer.

                “I am glad that you showed up to pull as apart for a while. I’ve been meaning to speak with you for a few days by this point but as the subject matter was sure to be beyond upsetting to the brat I had to wait for a moment when he wasn’t present. I don’t want to be responsible for causing him undue stress, especially with times the way they are.”

                This had clearly caught her full attention. Her grey eyes rested expectantly on him as she waited for him to continue speaking.

                “You are aware that, within the next few days, I will be sent to the Lost Lands with another contingent to lead a pre-emptive strike against the bastards squatting there?”

                “I am. We will remain behind to defend the Prince and the Capital in your absence.

                “We’re both aware that this will not be the only battle of this war?”

                “Fully.”

                “I need you to swear something to me, Mikasa.”

                “Warlord?”

                “If, in the future, you find yourself placed in a situation where you must choose between helping me and protecting Eren, save Eren. Even if doing so means leaving me to die.”

                “I…Levi, I can’t-!”

                “You can, and you will. Now swear!”

                “My duty-!”

                “Is to ensure that the bloodline isn’t broken. That makes Eren, and not me, your top priority. Especially considering the fact that, when the time comes that you have to make such a decision, he could well be with child.”

                “But, Sir-.”          

                “Ackerman, by the Gods!”

                Mikasa reluctantly dipped her head. “Very well. I swear.”

                “You swear what?”

                “…” she sighed. “I swear that, if I must choose between your life and Eren’s, I will save the Prince. Even if he won’t forgive me for it. And not because I want to but because I’ve been ordered to by my superior.”

                He nodded. “Thank you, Mikasa. I know that it was a difficult thing for me to ask of you but I feel that it was necessary to do so.”

                “I understand.” The song ended, replaced with a somewhat more spirited waltz. “I suppose that I should go find Sasha and send her your way before she makes a break for the kitchens again. And provide the Prince with another of his obligated dances with someone other than you.”

                “You’re trying to avoid Kirstein, aren’t you.” The look she shot him made him laugh. “Let Blouse raid the larder if she really wishes to. I’ll talk to Jean.”

                “That isn’t necessary.”

                “Actually it is.” The raven replied. “And I have the feeling you’re not the only one who will appreciate my having done so.”

                Without giving the ravenette the chance to protest or question him Levi left her standing where she had been and began making his way through the surrounding crowd in search of Jean. He managed to locate the ash blonde within a reasonable amount of time, standing to the Western corner of the room with his back to him as he craned his neck in an effort to see over the heads of the gathered people.

                “Danced with anyone yet, Horse face?”

                Jean jumped. “No, Sir. I’m on guard duty.”

                “Are you sure that that’s actually the reason and it’s not because you haven’t been able to find Ackerman due to her actively avoiding you?” his refusal to meet his eyes was more than answer enough. Levi shook his head and propped himself against the wall. “When are you going to get it through your thick skull that she isn’t interested?”

                “You weren’t interested in Eren either in the beginning, and now you’re married!”

                “I was always interested in Eren. I was just originally in denial. And by the looks of it so are you.”              

                “I-.”

                “Kirstein, pull your head out of your ass and look around you! If you do, you may soon notice that there’s another person better served to be investing your attentions.”

                “Who would that be, since you seem to know so damn much?”

                “Bodt! That’s who!”

                “U-uh, Sir?” an almost timid sounding voice piped up from behind him. Levi turned to see Marco standing a few feet away having walked up behind them during the course of their argument. “Were you…looking for me?”

                “No, Freckled Jesus, I wasn’t. I was simply pointing out to this thick-headed horse that you’re in love with him.” At this Marco turned beet red beneath his freckles and Levi smirked. “Oh don’t blush like a virgin! It’s been blatantly obvious to everyone of us looking on who had even half a brain. The only ones who didn’t notice were this dipshit and my dear new husband!”

                “I…you were…” seemingly dazed by the revelation Jean looked over at Marco whose face was so red Levi was beginning to worry he might spontaneously combust. “You were talking about me?”

                The way that Marco hesitated before nodding made it seem as if Jean had asked him if he’d ever committed a murder. “Yes.” He had now turned so red that he’d invented almost four new shades. “It was. Jean, I didn’t-.”

                Levi interrupted the taller raven’s words by pushing the blonde forwards, sending Jean careening forwards into the other’s chest with a yelp. “The song changed. Why don’t you two have this dance? I should be getting back to my husband now.”

                He left the pair to sort through the awkwardness, quietly hoping Jean wouldn’t prove quite so dense as he’d always thought.

                Levi was so preoccupied with hunting for any signs of Eren through the crush of people that he didn’t notice the other’s approach until a large warm hand came down on his shoulder. He jumped and turned, nearly coming face to chest with Eren’s father. The armor worn by the king was considerably more ornamental in nature than that of any other in the room, stained in the deep violet hue of the royal family and like the guard imprinted with the royal crest.

                “I apologize, Levi. I didn’t mean to startle you.” Grisha said, releasing his grip on the much smaller raven. “I need to speak to you in regards to matters of the future.”

                Levi tilted his head, looking up at the other in confusion. “Matters of the future, my Lord?”

                “Now that you have Ascended and married my son one day, when my time has passed, the mantle of the crown will fall to you.  And with the way that things are now I have considerable reason to believe that time may be coming sooner than any of us fully realize. As such, there are certain topics which I must discuss with you.” He pulled a heavy ring from his finger and held it up for him to see. “Do you know what this is?”

                The band was wide and made of gold, its finish worn by centuries of worth of age. On it was a single gem stone about the size of his thumb nail which looked like a faceted glass chamber inside of which swirled an abyss of black threaded throughout with golden stars. His nonplused expression seemed to be answer enough, and Grisha returned it to his finger with a sigh.

                “What I’ve just shown you is an artifact which I’m sure you’ve heard of quite a lot in the past.” He said. “Forged by Uher, empowered by Yra and gifted to our ancestors by Araon the bearer of this ring is given full sway over the Titans. Sway which extends far beyond a Shifter’s natural ability to dominate our simpler cousins and remains while in our human forms.”

                “The Coordinate.” Even to his own ears his voice sounded shocked. “It’s…smaller than I thought it would be.”

                To be honest he had no idea what he’d expected the fabled artifact to look like.

                “It is a gift from the Gods and an heirloom of the Acies Clan. Worn by our Empire’s founder and first King it has passed through the ages from Father to Son but…Eren, as you’ve seen, often allows his emotion to dictate his actions against better judgment.” The King sighed again. “Not since our people’s war against the humans has it been used in the name of battle. And my son is simply too high strung to safely be entrusted with the responsibility of its usage. So, if worst comes to worst, I want to make my intentions very clear Levi. This Coordinate, and its use for the protection and furtherance of our way of life, falls to you.”

                The black gem glittered softly in the light of the torches mounted on the walls. “I understand. You have my word that when my time comes to lead our people as King I’ll use it well.”

                “Onto the matter of other topics-.”

                His words were cut off by a shriek and the sound of something shattering. Glass from one of the broken windows slid across the tile floor with an awful high pitched grating sound. Dark figures wearing cloaks to conceal their faces from view poured in from outside, the weapons they held gleaming like shads in the moonlight which managed to filter down through the haze of clouds which choked the night sky.

More screaming and loud epithets. A few of the torches dislodged from their brackets and fell to the floor with echoing clatters, setting a number of the banners which hung from the ceiling alight as they went by. Chaos erupted into being as blood from those wounded and killed in the sudden surprise attack, as well as those trampled in the blind rush to escape it, spread across the floor.

Jean and Marco appeared from thin air to either side of them, blades bloody and battle in their eyes.

“Mikasa and Sasha have already evacuated the Queen and Prince to the safe room, my Lords!” Marco informed them in clipped, business-like tones. The stuttering and embarrassment from minutes prior had completely disappeared.

“The rest of the guard is on their way from their posts to provide us with backup and should be arriving any minute.” Jean reported. “But it’s best that you both follow us to- _Levi!!!”_

The raven easily avoided his subordinate’s attempt to grab him and charged forwards into the melee with a bellowed shout. The invaders looked up at the sound and, on catching sight of his form rapidly bearing down on them with his weapon drawn, fled back through the windows they had come through.

 _“Get back here!”_ There was no way he would allow any of them to escape. Not after making another attempt on what was now his family. Not after crashing his wedding night.

One of them wasn’t quite fast enough to evade him and he leapt onto his exposed back like a wild cat onto a deer. The force of the tackle and the weight of armor and muscle and bone bringing him down with a painful thud. The dress blade was only barely of passable make to ram through his opponent’s neck.

He took his horse. The beast at first attempted to buck him off but he quickly brought it to heel and thundered after them. Down from the cliff top. Through the city streets. Into the countryside. Between the darkness and the speed at which he was traveling he didn’t notice the state of the terrain that he’d been led to until his mount slipped on the loose stones and fell. His body flew forwards over the animal’s head. Colliding with the earth with the clang of armor and crack of yet more dislodging stones.

He caught the flash of movement before the weapon swung down where his head had been. Levi was on all fours in an instant, slashing at the armored knees of his nearest foe with a sharp edged shard of rock which rebounded harmlessly. They’d surrounded him. Weapons bristling. Manic smiles showing from below their cowls. Yet again his closest foe raised his blade.

Levi ripped off his gauntlet and sank his teeth into his hand.

The first thing he noticed was the light. Bright. Brighter than bright. It was less like going momentarily blind and more like his eyes had suddenly become unable to detect anything but the color white. Then came the sound. Resonant, earth shattering and ear splitting the explosion was far louder now that he was at the heart of it than he ever remember it being before. Finally there came the heat and the tightness. Not quite like being crushed but more like he’d crawled into a second skin.

The unstable earth crackled and shifted beneath his weight as his Titan form drew itself up to its full 12 meter height and let out an echoing roar which was sure to be heard for miles around.

His attackers scattered like rats fleeing a sinking ship and his predatory instinct lit up bright red. Levi pounced with a feral snarl. Crushing two at once into a slurry of dark red beneath his palm. Cutting another in half with a quick snap of his fanged maw. Those who hadn’t immediately made a failed attempt to escape his fury had taken their own Titan forms. One attempted to tear open the back of his nape only to impale itself on the bristling spines.

He rounded on him, the arm coming free of its owner with a wet ripping sound as he did so, and took his head clean off with a single savage slash. Shredding through the nape with his claws before allowing the dissolving corpse to crumple to his feet. Another two were coming at him from his right. He lowered his head and charged forwards, driving his horns into his chest and goring him before flinging his body into that of the other which had been coming up behind.

A third made an effort to rip at his flesh and he kicked it away. It stumbled backwards, regained its balance and then lunged for him again. He drove the point of one of the curved blades protruding from his wrists into the other’s flesh, slitting it open down its front and then ripping out the nape, and the Shifter inside, and crushing it between his teeth.

Surrounded by the dissolving forms of his slain opponents Levi roared again as the lust of battle faded from his before allowing his own form to collapse. He pulled himself free of what little flesh still desperately clung to him amidst the framework of smoking bone and rolled up onto his feet.

Without a horse it took him almost two hours to return to the castle and by that point all of the blood had evaporated off of him. He practically had to beat his way through the rank and file of his own men before finally being rescued by Mikasa.

No one stopped him after that.

“Levi!” Eren left his corner in a blur of gold and brown, colliding with his chest with a clang and nearly knocking him over.

“Oh, thank the Gods!” Carla’s voice was laced with obvious relief.

“You pursued them?” Levi nodded, wrapping his arms protectively around Eren’s shaking form and finding himself hating the Adherents even more than before. “What happened?”

“They’re dead. I tore every last one of those bastards apart. And once I get into their fucking swamp I plan to do the same to the rest of the bastards!” He tightened his grip around the Prince and rocked him gently back and forth. Trying to sooth him to no avail. “Not a single one of them got away. So there’s no need for us to sit in here like cornered gerbils!”

“Levi is right, my Lord. My Lady.” He hadn’t realized Mikasa hadn’t left. “I’ll escort them both to-.”

She glanced at him expectantly and Levi immediately said “my room.”

“I’ll escort them both to Levi’s room and Jean and I will keep watch outside of the door to ensure their safety. I think it would be best for the sake of the Prince’s psyche that he be allowed to rest.”

“Grisha, darling, I-I think that would be best.” Eren’s mother was clearly struggling to maintain a semblance of composure, though this charade was rapidly dissolving. “I think we all just need to return to our rooms and rest. Allow the guard to handle this, as is their job.”

The King didn’t quite seem comfortable with this, but nodded anyway. “Yes. You’re right. Levi, please. Take Eren to bed so that both of you can rest.”

Levi wasted no time in dragging Eren’s half-limp form along with him out of the room, trailing after Mikasa who seemed to be on the same vein of thought. Jean fell in behind them a few seconds later as if having over-heard the conversation which had taken place inside the room.

They left them at the door of the room and Levi, still practically frog marching the brunet beside him, proceeded inside. By the time he’d seated him on the edge of his bed the hitching sobs he’d been trying to hide would no longer be kept silent.

“Eren.”

“I hate it!” He grated out between clenched teeth. Tears escaping and rolling down his cheeks. “I hate being weak! I hate it, Levi! But…I’m so scared. Scared of them. _How can I be scared of those worthless mongrels_!”

“Eren!” The raven grabbed him. Cradling his face, stroking his cheeks and wiping away the tears which continued to fall. The blue-green eyes were focused on him, wide now and still leaking silver rivulets of salty water. “It doesn’t make you weak to be afraid. Only a fool has a true lack of fear. You, Eren, are still a child. The equivalent of 15. It’s more than alright for you to be afraid, especially when then monsters that you fear are _real_.”

Eren looked away and pouted. “But you’re not afraid.”

“Yes. I am.”

Maybe it was the honesty or the immediacy of the response that surprised him, but when Eren glanced at him again it was undeniable that he’d been taken off guard. “What could you, a half-God, possibly have to fear? I’m sure that you tore through them like wet paper dolls!”

“What could I have to fear?” Levi lowered himself onto the bed beside Eren and resumed stroking his tear-streaked face. “Losing you. Having you die. Having them take you from me. My worst fear, Eren, is that one day they’ll come and assault the Capital. Break through our lines. Topple the palace. And that in the wake of the fighting I’ll find you lying on the ground, cold and covered in blood.

The brunet shuddered at the thought.

“But I’m not going to let that happen, nor will I allow them to take tonight from us.” He promised. “I’m going to take your mind off of what happened Eren.”

“No.” He gently extricated himself from Levi’s loose grip and withdrew. “I’m not in the mood for that tonight. I’m sorry.”

“I’m not talking about sex.” He got up from his seat and tried to walk away but the brunet grabbed him.”

“Please,” he whimpered softly, “don’t leave me alone in here.”

Levi rested his hand comfortingly over the one Eren had wrapped around his thin-boned wrist. “I’m not leaving, Eren. I’m just going to the door to ask Mikasa to get something for us.”

Eren nodded and reluctantly peeled his grip away from the raven allowing Levi to proceed to the door. He opened it and stuck his head into the hallway.

“You need me to retrieve something for you?” clearly she’d been listening in.

“Yes, if you wouldn’t mind. I would get it myself by Eren doesn’t want to be left alone right now.” He told her. “Could you retrieve some lotion for me? It doesn’t matter what kind.”

The Guard Captain nodded and walked off, leaving Jean as their sole guardian for a brief time. When she returned she was holding a small golden pot which she handed over to him.

“May I ask why it is you need this?”

“Eren is…extremely shaken up and if there’s any hope of him sleeping tonight I need to relax him somehow.” He replied. “I don’t plan on telling him where I picked this up because all it does is upset him when I bring up my ex. But when Erwin and I first wound up together I was…high strung to say the least due to what I’d gone through. He would do this for me, sometimes, on nights when I was particularly tightly wound. And no matter how close to crazed I was at the time it would always make me pass out in a dead sleep within minutes. A sleep which, mercifully, came without dreams.” The worn gold glinted in the gloom. “This is what Eren needs right now.”

“I hope that whatever you have planned works as well as you say it does.” Mikasa’s voice was quiet. “Goodnight, Levi. I hope that the both of you sleep well.”

“Thank you.” He closed the door quietly and set the little pot down on the nightstand. Eren had taken off his armor and the clothes that he’d been wearing underneath, leaving himself sitting on the bed in only boxers. The makeup he’d been painted with by the attendants had become smeared down his face like black tear tracks.

After stripping down himself and setting his armor and clothing aside Levi picked up a cloth and gently wiped the dark streaks away.

“You trust me?”

Eren nodded.

He gently reached out and ran his fingers through the unkempt brunet hair. “Lay down.” A gentle push against the front of his chest lowered Eren onto the pillows. “You need to relax, brat.” The shaking had stopped but he could feel the rapid fluttering beneath his palm. “Your heart is pounding.”

He watched the brunet make a conscious effort to calm himself while rubbing small circles into his chest with his thumb. Once Eren’s pulse had returned to normal he got up off the bed for just long enough to blow out the candle and picked up the jar.

“I’m going to do something to help you be able to sleep. It’s an old trick I learned a couple years ago back at the walls. One that I know works because I was repeatedly on the receiving end.” He dipped his fingers into the pale vaguely floral lotion and warmed it between his hands. “Close your eyes and turn onto your front. Don’t open them. Eventually you’ll pass out and won’t dream.”

Eren jumped slightly in surprise when the raven grabbed his foot but the soft gasp he made swiftly turned into a contented hum as precise gentle fingers began messaging the skin. Feet. Calves. Thighs. Occasionally stopping to take more lotion from the container.

Eren felt almost weightless. As if he were floating in the darkness behind his eyelids. Encapsulated in warmth and comfort. Only a groggy sort of half aware that he was drifting into sleep.

“I’m going to sit on you, Eren.”

The brunet giggled drunkenly as the other’s weight settled gently against his lower back. “That sounded raunchy, Levi.”

A gentle swat between his shoulders awarded this statement before Levi resumed his message, this time attacking Eren’s upper body. Back. Shoulders. Arms. It was to warm, gentle kisses across the back of his neck that he finally blacked out.


	18. Before the Fall

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Why is it always the fluff chapters that take me forever to do?  
> This is mostly fluff, sorry guys, but there is a bit of information that will come to be necessary in the third and final part of the series so it's worth while not completely skipping it.

                He couldn’t remember the last time that he had slept so well. Didn’t think that he ever had.

                Eren opened his eyes slowly to find himself staring up at the ceiling of Levi’s room. His eyes studied the patterns of divots and whirls inscribed into it by white paint and shadows. The window, as always, was ajar just enough to allow the eagle in and out as it pleased and Himmel was now once again perched atop his stand. Awake, as Eren was, and observing him through one golden eye. A shaft of white light had wormed its way between a chink in the curtains, warm where it struck his chest and shattered over the skin into a pool of brightness.

                Levi was still asleep, curled protectively into his side as Eren often found him when on the rare occasion he was the first to return to consciousness. His short black hair was wild. Almost windswept looking. Sticking up in all directions as he lay comfortably against the mattress. His warm breath fanning across where his neck met his shoulder at even intervals as he snored softly. His pale skin all the more beautiful for the sunlight which painted its canvas and his grey eyes veiled behind white eyelids and dark lashes.

                Eren was content to simply lie in bed and watch him for a couple of hours longer. To study, carefully, and put to memory every scar and facet of him to memory so that whatever happened he could always bring an image of him to mind.

                _No. It’s best not to think of something like that now._ There would be plenty of time to concern himself with the encroaching darkness later. For now he would allow himself to pretend there weren’t wolves clawing at their gates to get in. To forget that war was coming.

                Or, at least, to try.

                Delicately, so as not to disturb his companion, Eren disentangled himself from his slack grip and rolled off of the bed. Bare feet contacted the cold tile floor, sending a small shudder shooting up his spine. Quietly, he padded across the floor towards the stand and cautiously reached a hand out towards Himmel, well aware only Levi could touch the bird as he pleased without getting bitten. The eagle stared at him and clicked its beak, then slowly lowered its head and allowed him to gently touch its feathers.

                The noble but fairly poor tempered creature was so alike its master that just thinking about it made him chuckle. Himmel even seemed to often be wearing the same deadpanned glare which was commonly found on the raven’s face. Despite his initial dislike of the bird’s continued presence Levi had since slowly warmed up to his winged companion. In recent months he’d rarely been seen without Himmel nearby, if not perched on his shoulder.

                Eren knew better than to overstay his invitation and withdrew before the raptor could tire of the contact and attempt to eat his fingers. He crossed the room again and carefully, to prevent them from creaking on their hinges, pushed open the doors.

                “Prince Eren,” Marco was the first to speak on catching sight of him. “May I ask where you might be going?”

                “My bedroom. There is something that I need to retrieve.” He said. “I am fine to make it there on my own. In the meantime could you please see to it that breakfast is brought up to us?”

                “I got it!” Sasha bolted towards the kitchens before either of them could react to stop her.

                “Marco.” The freckled raven immediately looked over at him. “Is Mikasa resting?”

                He nodded. “Yes. She and Jean will be changing shift with the two of us in approximately a half an hour.”

                “Please, tell her to notify me when her shift has started. I want to spend the day out about the city with Levi and by the time the change of shift has occurred we should both be ready to leave.”

                “You want to go down into the city? Prince, are you sure that that is wise?”

                “I am _not_ going to let the Adherents turn my home into a gilded bird cage! I refuse to hide from them! I’m sick of cowering!” His fists clenched at his sides. “Besides if last night shows us anything it’s that nowhere, even the palace, is safe. Not really.”

                He still didn’t look pleased with the prospect, but nodded. “I’ll inform her of your wishes.”

                “Good.” He said, resuming walking. “Thank you Marco.”

                Eren changed quickly on reaching his room, selecting from his closet cotton clothing with muted colors and a soft texture. Then he pulled the box from the depths of his closet and returned to the room, accepting the tray of platters Sasha handed to him before returning inside.

                Levi still hadn’t woken up but in his absence the raven had shifted his position. He was now lying on his front, arms flung out in both directions as if trying to figure out where he might have gone to and what little of his face was visible bore a discontented expression. Setting the box aside on the bedside table and carefully situating the tray on the mattress so that it wouldn’t tip over Eren gently stretched himself across the other’s body. Allowing enough of his weight to rest against him to push him slightly further into the mattress below them. Spattering kisses along the back of his shoulders. Tickling his skin with his hair.

                “Brat,” his dark toned voice was hoarse with sleep. A sliver of his grey-blue eye was just barely visible around the pillow he’d buried his face into. “As it’s socially unacceptable to fuck before at least mid-afternoon you and I have more than enough of an excuse to sleep in for a while longer.”

                “It’s almost noon now.” Eren told him softly, beginning to toy with the short strands of his inky hair. Messing it up even more. “I don’t want to spend all day cooped up in the castle. I want us to actually _do_ something together before you leave.” Levi blinked up at him but didn’t speak. “I had breakfast brought in for us. And…I have something for you.”

                A heavy sigh was muffled in the pillows. Slowly, Levi pushed himself up onto his arms.  Yawned widely. Arched his back. Eren watched the muscles flex and shift below the skin as his bones popped. “A gift? No one told me that was a part of the ceremony.”

                Not that he’d known much about the ceremony to begin with.

                The brunet looked down at his hands in what, too Levi, appeared to be embarrassment. “It isn’t.” He took the little box into his hands and held it there. Gripping it a bit more tightly than was necessary. Shaking slightly. “This…a matter of my own paranoia. Catering to my own superstitions…” He pulled the lid off slowly with a quiet scraping sound. “Something to keep you safe while you’re away.”

                Levi took the box when it was handed over to him.

                It was light. Made of wood. Just slightly longer than his hand. Inside, resting on a small black cushion, was what looked like a bracelet. Perfectly sized to fit his wrist. Woven from what looked to be some sort of organic string and hung with what looked like tiny golden coins, the outlines of the carvings within them stained a recognizable rust brown. Blood.

                “It’s a battle fetish.” Eren explained on catching sight of his look of confusion and minor disgust. “They’re worn by our greatest warriors. Crafted from sinew and bloodied offerings to Araon. I had this made for you a little over a year ago, had it blessed in the Temple, because I feared things would eventually come to what they have.”

                “Blood? Sinew?”

                “I know of your proclivity, so I had the sinew disinfected before and after it was dried.”

                “Even if that’s true it’s still disgusting! These coins are covered in blood that, for all I know, belongs to-.”

                “Me. It’s my blood.” He replied. “Please, just wear it. For my peace of mind if nothing else.”

                The raven heaved another heavy sigh. “You’re lucky that I love you as much as I do.” The metal was cold as it slid over his skin. The bracelet heavy against his wrist. “What’s for breakfasts, since it seems that you’ve brought it into bed for a three some.”

                Eren chuckled and pulled the tray over. The cutlery rattled against it as he did. “Sasha brought it so as you can imagine it’s a little bit of absolutely everything.”

                “I hope none of it has bites take out already.” Levi grumbled, looking over the spread which now sat before them. Pastries. Eggs. An assortment of different sausages. Bacon. Fried potatoes. Numerous different kinds of fruit. He selected a plate of sliced melon and a pastry for himself and settled back against the pillows, mindful of crumbs. Eren quietly polished off the eggs and nibbled on a few sausages. “Simply from the sheer amount of food on this plate. I’d have known who made it even if you hadn’t told me.”

                Eren nodded. Regarding the apple wedge that he held in his hands but making no effort to eat it.

                “So, what was it you wanted to do today?”

                “Just walk around the city. See what we can find. What catches our interest. Spend the day together.” He shrugged. “Just as something to do.”

                “We can’t go alone, brat.”

                “I know.” The brunet said. “Mikasa and Jean will be escorting us for the day.”

                As if on cue a knock came on the door.

                “Alright, brat. We’ll go.” He rose off the edge of the bed and onto his feet in a single fluid motion and headed over to the wardrobe. “Just let me throw some clothes on. I’m not about to go parading around next to naked in public.”

                “I don’t see why not.” A playful pout was audible in Eren’s voice.

                Once Levi had dressed himself in the first passably matching clothes he could get his hands on the pair made their way out of the room. Mikasa and Jean both stood waiting for them and fell in behind without needing to be asked or informed of their intentions. Niether spoke as they made their way to the stables and then down towards the city, content to simply enjoy each other’s company in silence. Eren allowed himself to stare blatantly at Levi. Knowing he’d noticed by the smirk  on his face but not caring. Enjoying the way that the smooth skin gleamed in the sunlight. Devouring what little of the prominent collarbone was visible below the shirt he wore.

                He was still finding it difficult to believe that the awe inspiring raven who had once been so staunch in his hatred of Titans was fully content to stay with him forever. That he, a half-God, was now his and would stay with him forever.

                “Keep squirming like that and you’ll wind up with saddle sores.” Levi’s dark voice was astoundingly suggestive. “I’m not about to be taking any mercy on you tonight, brat. You’re not going to be capable of walking by tomorrow, healing factor aside.”

                Eren shuddered, already bemoaning the circa eight hours standing between them and being left to do as they pleased. The presence of their guard had already been completely forgotten.

                “I won’t be able to walk,” he purred, leaning forwards in his saddle. “Is that what you said?”

                “You know damn well that’s what I said. Your ears aren’t broken.”

                “Might I ask how it is that you intend to do that?”

                The smirk curled into a full blown devilish smile. “That, my dearly beloved brat,” he purred “is a surprise.”

                Eren squirmed. “You wouldn’t happen to, I don’t know, have the ability to fast forward time? You are a half-God after all.”

                “If you’ve suddenly decided you don’t want to go into town after all I see no reason to wait to go at it like rabbits.”

                “I do. I…it’s just…on top of that we have to attend dinner with my parents. …Did I-?”

                “Yes, you forgot to mention that.” Levi reached out a hand and rumpled the other’s already ragged hair. “Don’t worry too much about it. We’ll make our obligated appearance and then lock ourselves away. Maybe not leave whatever room we choose except to shit until I have to ship out.”

                “That sounds like an amazing plan.”

                The city was abuzz with activity. The afternoon sun glared down on them from its perch at the highest point in the cerulean sky. Levi followed the example of his husband as he leapt enthusiastically down from his horse, tying the mount to a post before falling into step beside him. Eren dragged him to the market, perusing some of the same stalls as had been present during the Halgrind festival. The displayed wares, he noticed, were different.

                Eren spoke happily with the numerous merchants, more than pleased to present Levi as his and explain a somewhat embellished version of the tale of how he’d managed at length to win his heart. Amused, Levi made his way a few stalls further down the market row aware of Jean shadowing him from not far behind.

                Discovering something which caught his eye he purchased it with a smirk. His guard didn’t quite seem to grasp his intentions and rather than explain Levi crept up behind Eren and slid the stem behind his ear. The brunet jerked in surprise, turning to face him as he pulled it down. Cradling the white and purple flower in his large tanned hands.

                “An Anemone.” His lips formed into a soft smile. “You know what it means, don’t you?”

                “Why do you think I chose that particular flower to give to you?” he reached up, resting a hand on the back of his neck and pulling the other gently down within reach. Not caring that they were in public as he kissed him. It only lasted a few seconds and when he released him Eren’s cheeks were on fire. “I don’t like having to say it in so many words. That sort of thing…it’s never been easy for me. Far from my forte. But I want to make sure that you know, and that you don’t forget.”

                Eren pulled his smaller form in close and buried his face in his dark hair, ignorant to the stares they were receiving. Levi just stood there, allowing himself to be embraced, resting his weight against his taller partner until Mikasa gently stepped in to pry them apart.

                “My Lords,” she said softly, “now is not the time.”

                “She’s right, Eren. If we have to do this now we should at least move it into an alleyway or something.”

                “But the only thing you’ll want to do in an alleyway is leave.” Eren protested without removing his face from his hair. “They’re dirty.”

                “I can cope with a little bit of filth if it means being with you.”

                Eren sighed and released him. “Wow, you really do love me.”

                “I thought we had established that much a while back.” He said. “Unfortunately it looks like we’ll have to wait till later after all as our guards both seem to be gearing up to manually separate us.”

                Eren’s response was a wordless and unidentifiable sound halfway between a grunt and a groan.

                “Come on, brat.” Levi gently took the other’s hand. “There’s somewhere that I want to stop.”

                The brunet reluctantly allowed himself to be led away down the row of stalls and to a building which, if the slight halt in her footsteps before following them was anything to go by, Mikasa recognized.

                The blacksmith was sitting behind the checkout counter and looked up when the bell over the door tinkled. Seeing them, he rose.

                “Warlord. Prince. Guard Captain.” He nodded to each of them in turn as he lifted a small box from under the desk. “I managed to complete what you asked for a couple of hours ago. I hope that it is to your satisfaction?”

                Levi peered inside and nodded. “It will serve my purpose well. Thank you.” He slid the box into his bag and handed the man a handful of coins before leading them out again.

                Eren didn’t waste a moment in demanding  “what’cha get? What’cha get?” as soon as the door had closed.

                The raven gently pushed him away. “You’ll get to see later on tonight. Like I said, I have plans for you.”

                Had he not known it would get him nowhere Levi didn’t doubt Eren would have whined. Instead he merely pouted and sighed. “Fine.” He said. “I don’t do well with it but I’ll try to wait. No promises, though.”

                Levi scoffed and rolled his eyes.

                “Let’s go and get some lunch. We’ve been at the market for a number of hours now and I’m hungry. Not to mention that I’d like to have the time after lunch to take you one more place so we need to be quick.”

                It if hadn’t already been obvious that Eren had put planning into this it become so the moment they had reached the restaurant in the center of the city. Though their guards both vanished from sight he knew full well they were still there. The pair were escorted to and sat down at a sheltered tucked away table and shared a meal in each other’s company. Enjoying their alone time together knowing it would be the last for at least a couple hours more.

                Two hours into their meal Levi doubted he could continue eating for much longer and Eren looked about ready to flip the table they were sitting at. He stood up with a sigh. “Ok, brat. Where was it that you wanted to take me so badly?”

                He was on his feet in an instant, catching him by the wrist and beginning to excitedly drag him towards the door. Just before they reached the street Mikasa and Jean reappeared from wherever they’d been hiding and the next thing he knew everything went black.

                “A blindfold, Ackerman?” he demanded upon recovering from the initial shock of the ambush.

                “I apologize, Levi. It was a request of the Prince.”

                “What the hell!” this time directed at Eren, the location of whom he only knew due to his grip on his wrist.

                “I want it to be a surprise. Don’t worry, I’m not going to let you run into anything.”

                “I think he was afraid that, if you knew where he was taking you, you wouldn’t want to go.” Jean said. A clank and a grunt seconds later made it obvious that the ravenette had elbowed him.

                Despite his mild trepidation Levi couldn’t help but smirk.

                The temperature dropped and the air became damp as they passed out of the sun and into a passageway. Eren led him along a curving path to the right and then said “watch you step. There are stairs here.”

                A short set of stairs led them back into the warmth of sunlight. Stone brushed against the sides of his legs-knee height on one side and approximately ankle height on the other-as Eren’s positioning shifted to indicate that they were walking single file.

                “What are we walking between, brat?”

                “Benches.” Came the swift reply.

                Benches? Where in the hell had there been stone benches in the Capital? He didn’t recall ever having come across them.

                “Damn it, Eren! Where are we?”

                “You’ll see. We’re almost there.” Eren quickened his pace. “More stairs.” About a minute later “gate” a squeak of metal hinges and then he was turned and pushed into a chair. “I’m going to take the blindfold off of you now. But you need to promise that you’ll keep your eyes closed until I say so.”

                “Eren-!”

                “Just promise! It will only take a second!”

                The raven sighed but nodded. “Alright. Fine. I’ll keep my eyes closed, I promise.”

                The brunet’s hands fumbled at the loose knot on the back of his head. The soft cloth fell away. “Alright.” Eren said finally. “You can open your eyes now.”

                Levi hesitated for a brief moment before doing as he was bid. The light of the setting sun slashed fiery orange shafts down over the top of the open building’s age crenulated roof. He’d been seated in a high backed chair on a comfortably furnished private balcony. Directly before him was an ornate golden grating below which stretched rows and rows of stone benches-empty now-descending towards the hard packed dirt of the arena floor.             

                “The Coliseum.”

                “Yes. The place where you and I first laid eyes on one another. Where you proved your honor and strength to the whole of the Empire, but besting the greatest Gladiators of the other clans in single combat." Eren perched himself on the right armrest. The dying light pooled in his eyes, turning the irises a radiant amber. “When the next Halgrind comes it is from here that you will view it. As King.”

                “We’d both be King, wouldn’t we?” Levi peered up at the other from his seat. “I doubt anyone would refer to you as ‘Queen’ Eren.”

                At this he smirked. “You can call me your Queen, if you’d like.” He cackled. “But, no. I would be referred to as neither King nor Queen but would remain as Prince.”

                “But-.”

                “Blood isn’t always everything, Levi. In the relationship of a man and a woman the man is called King and the woman Queen. But in that of two men the current King chooses the one to which he will pass his mantle by merit of whom he believes will best be able to lead in his place and passes the coordinate to him. My Father is old and wise, and where I don’t always agree with what he decides on this matter I fully support his decision as what is right.”

                “You don’t resent it?”

                Eren’s expression appeared somewhat troubled as he pushed himself back onto his feet. “Levi,” his voice held a sighing quality as he oriented himself to crouch before him. “I do not resent you, nor will I ever. Titles don’t matter. Power can be shared. And, frankly, between your cooler head and your leadership experience on the field of battle-you have been to war and I have not despite my training-you would make a better King than I could hope to.” Noting his expression of surprise he laughed. “Just because I’m reckless doesn’t mean I don’t realize my own tendency to fail to react objectively.”

                Levi sighed and shook his head, pulling Eren up with him as he rose. “Sometimes I forget that you’re nearly triple my age.” The brunet hummed quietly, drawing the other against him again. “Should I be concerned?”

                Eren cocked his head. “Concerned?”

                “Yes. Concerned.” He could feel his face heat slightly. “About choosing the wrong night to bottom and-don’t you fucking laugh at me!”

                “I’m sorry! Really!” His attempts to stop himself only made the snickering worse. “I just…I can’t…no. You don’t need to worry about that.”

                “Are you 100% sure of that, shit head?”

                He nodded. “Internally, despite your Ascension, your reproductive functions remain fully human. So you’ll be fine regardless of when we do it and how often.”

                The raven eyes him warily. “And how concerned should I be about you?”

                “About me?” he repeated. “Why would you be concerned about me?”

                “Male Shifters are capable of becoming pregnant.”

                “Yes.” Eren answered it like a question despite knowing that it wasn’t one.

                “So if we do it you could wind up…at any time? I mean…it’s not that…with war coming it’s hardly the time to be bringing a new life into the world.”

                “Relax, Levi.” Eren said calmly. Rubbing soothing circles into his skin through the fabric covering his back. “Female Shifters, like Female Humans, are capable of becoming pregnant at any time though there are certain periods during which the likelihood of it happening are higher. Male Shifters, unlike Male Humans, are also capable of bearing children. However, we’re infertile except for during a certain week-long window which only occurs about once every decade or so. As a tradeoff, if we have sex during this time we are guaranteed to wind up with child. There are also certain signs which occur to serve as tells for when it’s happening.”

                “And what signs are those?”

                Eren chuckled nervously, reaching up to rub the back of his neck. “That’s the thing.” He admitted nervously. “I…don’t know.”

                “You…don’t know?” Levi repeated in utter disbelief. “Are you fucking joking brat?”

                “No. Really. I don’t know what they are. I’ve gone through ten of them but…I never felt any different. Not noticeably so.” He explained. “But I had my last one about seven years ago, according to the royal doctors. That means we won’t have to worry about it for at least another three and by that time the war should be over.”

                “We can hope.”

                “Don’t worry over it too much, love. We can wait as many cycles as we need to until we’re both ready for children.”

                “I’ve looked after gaggles of brats before, Eren. I’m not ‘not ready’. I’m not afraid. I may be considerably younger than you are but I’m not that fucking young. My concern has to do with bringing a new defenseless life into the world that the Adherents could-.”

                Eren’s hands constricted into a painful grip against his shoulders. “Don’t say it. Because it’s not going to happen.”

                “Eren-.”

                “ _It’s not going to happen!”_ He jumped at the shout far too close to his ear. “The war _will_ be over by then. The can’t stand against you. Not with their lack of honor and false strength! By the time our children know this world their like will be nothing but a frightening story.”

                _Reality will only hurt you if you keep on like this, brat. Things don’t happen for better or worse dependent on whether you have more honor than your enemy does._ But he didn’t have the heart to say it. “You’re right. I’m sorry.” He wrapped his arms around the taller Shifter’s waist. “I didn’t mean to upset you.”

                “I’m not upset. It’s just…a sensitive subject what with battle looming.” They stood that way, resting against each other, for a while before the brunet sighed. “We should head back. It’s getting late.”

                Eren nodded after another moment and released him. “You’re right. We should head back to the castle before we wind up late for dinner. But one thing first.”

                “What brat?”

                There was a cautiousness in his eyes now as if afraid what he was about to ask might meet with a bad reaction. “Do you want to go down?”

                His grey eyes scanned the arena floor below them. “No.” He finally said. “I don’t want to ever find myself on that floor again. Pitted or otherwise.”

                “Fair enough.” They lingered on that balcony for a while before finally returning down the steps and exiting the coliseum. They walked back to where they’d left their horses hand in hand and rode back up the road exchanging the occasional weighted glance. Much to their shared dismay they bumped into the royal advisor on their way inside, but he wasn’t able to do much more than scoff at the flower Eren still held before Mikasa viciously sent him packing.

                “He’s allowed far too much freedom.” She hissed once the flickering tails of his shadow had vanished around the corner. “With his blatant lack of respect, I can’t fathom why Lord Grisha hasn’t yet brought him to heel!”

                “He’s been an aid of worth to this family for many years. It’s only been a recent development that he’s shown his true colors.”

                “The bastard is a massive pain in the ass but he isn’t stupid, I’ll give him that much.” Even this was said reluctantly as Levi folded his arms across his chest. Glaring at the place where the other had vanished from sight. “After your father went after him he’s taken to disrespect only while out of his eye.”

                “Maybe we should be keeping an eye on-.”

                “No!” All three looked over at him in surprise. “As much as I hate him for the way he sees Levi I can’t stand here and let you accuse him of being a traitor. He’s a blood member of the Acies Clan and has been with my family since before even you were Mikasa. There’s no way that he could have betrayed us to the Adherents.”

                “We can’t afford to trust anyone, Eren. You know that.”

                “We also can’t afford to let paranoia wedge us apart!” Eren ran a shaking hand roughly through his wild hair. “Look…maybe it’s impossible and stupid of me to ask this but can we please just forget all about this for at least until the honeymoon is over? Two days: that’s all I can ask.”

                “I can promise to try.” Both knew that was the best that they could hope for. Eren didn’t seem completely pleased by the answer but allowed his hand to drop back to his side and led the way to the dining room. Jean and Mikasa went to join Marco and Sasha along the room’s walls. Levi and Eren took seats across from each other at the table, the raven relieved the find that the brunet’s anxiety if perhaps not forgotten had been concealed for the time being.

                “How was your day, dears?” Carla asked them gently. “Did you enjoy yourselves? I know that it has been a while since you’ve had the time to freely walk around the capital.”

                Levi smiled at his mother in law as Eren wasted no time in filling his plate. “It was fun. It’s obvious that he went through a lot of trouble to plan it.” He said. “I appreciate the effort.”

                “Good. Because it’s exceedingly difficult to make such arrangements without physically being present to do so.” The brunet’s voice was muffled around a roll.

                “Blouse has been teaching you bad habits I see?”

                “No,” Mikasa spoke from her position with a mild sigh, “the Prince has always done that.”

                “Are you going to tell me what was in that box now?” Eren asked as he shoved the rest of the roll into his mouth.

                “No.”

                “But you said later.”

                “I did.”

                “It is later.”

                “Not ‘later’ enough.” Levi selected a few things from the surrounding dishes to fill his plate.

                “Then when is it going to be ‘later enough’?”

                “When your parents aren’t in the room. Or your guards for that matter. I think we’d both prefer they remain ignorant to the finer details of our sex lives.” Eren choked, turning red. “Not to mention it’s hardly dinner conversation.”

                “I quite agree with you, Levi.” Grisha glanced over at Eren, who was now attempting to hide behind the food with which he’d filled his plate. “You took him back to the Coliseum?”

                The blush of Eren’s face had cooled from red to a light dusting of pink. “Yeah. I did.” He said. “I showed him the balcony and we had a conversation regarding…” he smirked and then said frankly “to put things simply Levi didn’t pay very much attention when Armin explained- _ouch!”_

                “Don’t make fun of me shit head! It was a completely legitimate concern!”

                “Did you really have to hit me with a spoon?”

                “You made it necessary.”

                Eren whined under his breath and resumed eating. Dinner passed in a comfortable lull of quiet conversation. It felt so good to be surrounded by a family that he could call his own. One that cared for him in a way his Uncle had not and that the Scouting Legion, regardless of how they tried, could only poorly imitate. Yet at the same time he couldn’t help but notice the feeling that something was coming, like an encroaching cold front, to once more rip it all away from him.

                It was five hours and three-fourths of the way through a bottle of wine later that Eren finally refused to remain idol and all but dragged him out of his chair. Neither of them were quite steady on their feet as they made their way through the shadowed silence of the castle halls.

                “Which room should we go to?” the brunet hiccupped.

                “Yours.” Came Levi’s slightly slurred reply. “I don’t think Himmel would much appreciate being forced to sit as observer to our activities.”

                “He can fly away. If he doesn’t than the bird’s a voyer.”

                They charted a course for Eren’s room either way.

                “I hope you weren’t planning on getting any sleep tonight.” He told him as they pushed open the door. “Because you and I are going to be going all night long.”

                The familiar hues of mahogany and hunter green surrounded them as they slipped inside. The room comfortably heated by the fire which now burned low in the hearth, their dim orange glow painting their skin and casting deep shadows along the contours of their features.

                Levi gently pulled the taller brunet down to him and pressed his lips to his. Cradling his face with his hands as he did so, stroking his thumbs along the contours of his cheekbones. Eren’s hands came to rest on his hips, pushing up and under his shirt to rest against the warm flesh underneath. Yanking him forward until their bodies pressed together. The raven flicked his tongue along the length of the other’s lower lip and was granted entry, but only had a few seconds to pillage the new territory before Eren started fighting back. Teeth clinked. Tongues wrestled. Growls rumbled in their chests.

                A thin thread of silver saliva hung between them for a moment when they broke apart for air. Eren’s lips were kiss bruised, wet and slightly swollen. His eyes hazed by warmth and lust.

                “We’re alone now.” He spoke in a quiet but suggestive voice. Palms flat against the skin as they traveled slowly up the raven’s chest. “Will you finally tell me what it is that you bought?”

                “Impatient little shit.” His voice was breathy with want, lacking the bite it usually would have had. “Fine. I’ll show you. But you have to strip first.”

                “Strip?” Eren repeated. “You mean you don’t want to take them off of me yourself?”

                “No.” Levi lowered himself onto the foot of Eren’s bed. Crossing his legs despite the growing tightness in his pants. “You take them off brat. I’ll watch.” Levi tilted his head back, purposely baring his throat to catch the other’s eye. “Make it a show, if you don’t mind.”

                “I’m surprised, Levi.” His gaze roved over the pale skin of his neck. “All day we’ve had to wait to have our fun and you want me to delay things further with a strip tease?”

                He pulled the box out of his bag and held it up for the other to see. “You want to know what this is?” Eren nodded. “Then strip!”

                “Fine.” The brunet traced his fingertips along the contours of his collar bone, smirking as the others’ gaze followed the movement. “If this is really what my dear husband wants from me than I suppose I should indulge him.”

                Slowly, almost painfully slowly, Eren undid the buttons of his shirt. Allowing it to fall open. Then slide off his shoulders and down his arms to the floor. His long fingered hands slid down along his chest, stopping to roll the pink buds between his fingers for a moment, and stomach to his waistband. Popping the button on his pants. Pulling them down to his ankles and then straightening up to his full height.

                “You said that you wanted a show.” He purred. “Should I touch myself, too? Pleasure myself for a while for your amusement, and so that you can drive home the fact that the real thing is so much better?”

                “That won’t be necessary. We’ve wasted enough time.” He nearly popped the buttons off in his haste to remove his shirt, carelessly tossing them aside. His pants soon joined them. “Come here. I think it’s time that you and I get started.”

                “Mmm.” Eren advanced on him with a slow deliberate gate. Reaching the bed and all but forcing the raven onto his back. “I couldn’t agree more.”

                He immediately sank his teeth into the side of his throat. Imparting dark bruises against the alabaster flesh. Levi allowed the brunet to continue marking him with impunity for a while until, when his neck and shoulders were splashed with blue black love bites, he turned the tables. Eren yelped in surprise as he was flipped onto his back and pinned to the mattress, Levi setting on his chest.

                “Don’t tell me that you really thought I’d let you top tonight brat.”

                “I didn’t.” Eren chuckled, pupils overblown to the point where his eyes looked black. “But I wanted to see how much you’d let me get away with.”

                “Well, now that I’m black and blue and bitten all over I think it’s my turn.” He said. “You remember the box you were so curious about? And the fact that I told you there was something that I wanted to try.”

                Eren nodded.

                “I doubt that what I got is what you expected.” From behind his back he produced the object which had been hidden inside of the box. The blade of the knife glittered in the low amber-hued light. “Pure silver. Two inches long. Keen enough to sheer a hair in half. Special ordered for a bit of fun.”

                The brunet’s confusion was obvious even without him having to speak.

                “A little bit of pain is known to be capable of intensifying pleasure. And with the healing factor we have I see no reason why we can’t engage in a little bit of blood play.” The metal, Eren noticed, was the same color as his partner’s eyes. “Of course if you’re not willing we don’t have to do it.”

                “I trust you not to really hurt me, Levi. So I don’t see any reason not to try something new.”

                Cold metal kissed his skin, splitting open a shallow cut. Blood painted the golden canvas of his skin and a pale haze of steam hissed upwards into the darkness. Warmth and wetness as the other’s tongue lapped up the spilled crimson. Another bite of the blade. Another pass of lips and tongue and teeth and Eren groaned.  Blood saliva and sweat soon coated his skin as he thrashed about on the sheets. Head thrown back against the pillows. Spine arching upwards as the other tormented the rosy nubs. Somehow the blade wound up out of Levi’s hands and in Eren’s. Crimson spread over white skin, coating his lips with the coppery thick liquid.

                A faint clatter as it slipped from his grasp and fell onto the floor.

                Cool fingers passing along his inner thigh as Levi pulled his legs up and secured them around his waist. Eren’s nails breaking the skin and cutting narrow furrows along his spine as he slid carefully inside. Hooking his ankles at the small of his back to pull him closer.

                “Levi.” It was difficult to form words around his own gasps and groans, thoughts muddled below a warm mist of pleasure. “Levi.”

                “What, Eren?”

                “I need you to promise me something.” He forced his hands to loosen. Pressing palms flat against the soft skin and shallow crescent-shaped cuts. Arms winding tightly around him as if afraid that his partner would suddenly vanish.

                “Anything, brat.” The raven’s voice, too, seemed strained.

                “Promise me that you’ll come back. Promise me that-.”

                “Eren.” He jerked slightly when Levi brushed away the beginnings of tears that he hadn’t even realized had begun to gather in the corners of his eyes. “Stop talking.”

                “But-.”

                “Hush.” With a gently hand on both of his cheeks he forced the teal eyes to meet his grey ones. “I don’t want you thinking about them now. I don’t want you ever thinking about them again. Once I’ve gotten my hands on those Adherent bastards they’ll be nothing but a dark chapter in history.”

                “Just come back.”

                “What did I just say, shit head?” this time the low growl came from just behind his ear, the raven nibbling gently on the shell of his ear as he did so. “I promise you that I’ll destroy them. And I promise you that, no matter what happens, I _will_ keep you safe!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anemone flowers stand for undying love


	19. Viper in the Nest

“You need to let go of me, Eren. I can’t leave with you clinging to me like this and I certainly can’t take you with me to this battle.”

                The Prince was currently clinging to him in a way which was neither subtle nor dignified and had clearly been geared towards preventing him from getting onto his horse and joining the warriors who would be under his command. Feet firmly planted in the stone stairs and grip refusing to be budged.

                “Eren.”

                “No.”

                “Eren!”

                “No, I don’t want you to go yet! Stay a few days longer!”

                “Brat.”

                “Please, don’t leave me yet!”

                One look into those teal eyes was almost enough to take the fight right out of him. “I can’t. You know that.”

                “But-.”

                He silenced him with a swift kiss and used the distraction to slip free of his grip. “I’ll be back before you know it, Eren. And when I do we’ll be one step closer to reminding the Adherents why it is they fear our Clan.”

                “I look forward to the day when we never need think of them again.”

                “You and I both.” He said with a sigh. “I’ll see you in a few days. Behave yourself.”

                “I’m not a child, Levi! You’re younger than I am!”

                Levi chuckled to himself and shook his head as he swung up into his saddle. A rapid flutter and low croon and a heavy weight deposited itself on his right shoulder. “Himmel.” The eagle warbled at him in greeting and affectionately nipped at his ear. “I’m sorry but you can’t come with me either. Mikasa and the rest of the poor royal guard need one of us here to help babysit the Prince. I trust to make sure that he doesn’t get up to too much trouble in my absence.”

                With one last chirr the raptor took flight again, nearly bowling the unsuspecting ravenette over as he practically dive bombed her before resting on her arm. She aimed a slightly off-balanced glare at him in retaliation and Levi responded with a sly wink. Eren, meanwhile, was too busy sulking to notice anything amiss.

                “Warlord.” His attention was diverted to one of the warriors who would be serving under his command. “We await your word to pull out. Though it is at your discretion it would be best that we set out before the morning is allowed to age too much. We won’t make it before nightfall otherwise.”

                “Yes, you’re right. I apologize for the delay.” He cast one last glance over his shoulder at Eren before snapping his reigns. “Forward! All of you! The sooner we deal with them the sooner that we can all return home!”

                Urging his horse into what bordered dangerously on a gallop Levi led the way down from the castle and out of the Capital. Out onto the expanse of roads which connected the different territories of the separate Clans making up the Empire to one another. Passed the forest where he and Eren had ridden together the night that they had been attacked. Branching off onto a narrower trail towards the South West rather than continuing Eastward as they had in the carriage while on tour.

                Every mile put between him and Eren was like the weight of another small boulder being rested on his shoulders. Stacked higher and higher until he feared he would break beneath their combined burden. The further the sun moved across the sky the darker and more pronounced grew the shadow of implacable dread which had been plaguing him for weeks and months before this point until there came a point where his heart was thrashing in his chest and his grip on the reigns was so tight that his fingers went numb.

                The other warriors soon picked up on his agitation. From time to time they would shift nervously in their saddles. On occasion their mounts would snore in response, buck slightly and paw at the ground.

                Little conversation was exchanged between the small strike force, most of which consisted of sparse orders from Levi or the occasional bout of nervous banter during one of their few brief breaks.

                Sunset was nearing by the time he smelled it. A putrid near gag inducing stench of mud, rotting vegetation and swamp gas. Ahead on the horizon stretched a flat mass of disgusting greenish brown sludge. The mere thought of having to get any closer to such a rancid germ-ridden hellhole, let alone having to fight in one, was enough to curdle his blood.

                _Disgusting._ He shuddered and adjusted himself in the saddle. _We had better get this over with quickly, or else the environment will kill us before the Adherents get the chance._

                The closer that they got to the festering scar on the earth that was the Lost Lands the wilder the vegetation became until greenery and an obvious path had given way to the snarled roots of twisted black trees tall brittle grass and thorny wooden vines. Soon the soil became too loose and unstable for the horses to proceed and he pulled the war party to a stop.

                “I don’t like this.” His hackles rose as his grey eyes flickered around the more than ample camouflage. The way the wind was hissing through the dead fronds made him nervous. Instincts screamed that they were not alone and not the hunters no matter how much they might have wished otherwise. Then he heard it. A sound that he would have recognized if it hadn’t been for their time spent hunting with the Sylva Clan. A twang of tight string and a sharp swift hiss. Levi threw himself out of his saddle with a yell of “ _get out of the open! They have archers!”_ as the arrow whizzed by just passed his right ear.

                The tangle of roots and mushy ground collided painfully with his chest, making his armor rattle and knocking the breath out of him. The earth trembled beneath his prone form as some of the warriors took their Titan forms to clash with their attackers. Others drawing their weapons and crossing swords with the enemy while their mounts scattered in a panic.

 _Another ambush. Just like last time._ He forced himself up onto all fours and then onto his feet. Chest aching as he gasped for air. _But how could they have known that we were coming this time? The only ones informed of it aside from the Royal Family were the ones dispatched to accompany me._ An arrow bounced off of his armor with an echoing clank. _It’s impossible that someone could have gotten word to them from the Capital in the time that it’s been since we set out._

                A black figure leapt out at him from the high grass and swung his blade. Levi dodged the savage but sloppy strike with ease and delivered a fatal blow of his own. Another arrow deflected off his blade from a woman with blonde hair and blue eyes who sneered at him, then dropped from her perch in the bows of a tree and vanished into the grass.

                He had been about to pursue her when he heard the piercing cry and looked up in alarm. Circling above him watching the battle from the air was Himmel. Seemingly aware that it had gained his attention the raptor swooped low and dropped what it had been holding, the serpent carcass hitting the porous ground with a dull thud.

                  _A diversion._ As the horrifying realization dawned on him he felt his throat leap into his mouth and his blood turned stone cold. The battle before him spun as panic sank its fangs deep into him. _That’s all that this was. All that it ever was. A ploy to lure us, lure me, away so that they could storm the Capital!_

                He had to get back immediately.

                “Warlord!” He jumped at the other man’s shout and pivoted n his heel in time to see four of the warriors he’d been dispatched with being swarmed from all sides. Within a matter of moments they would surely be overrun. Levi stared for a moment more before glancing over at the horse which had trotted to a cautious stop not far away. “Warlord, please! Help us!”

                _Every second that you waste here could be the second in which those bastards kill him!_ He’d be leaving them to die, of that much he had no illusion, but that didn’t matter to him now. “I’m sorry.”

                He sprinted towards the animal and threw himself into the saddle without giving their attackers the chance to realize what he was doing or try and stop him. Levi barreled through the fray, trampling friend and foe alike beneath flying hooves. Himmel shrieking and diving before him, gouging at the eyes of those who tried to stop him with talons and beak.

                _Eren!_ Teal eyes. Tan skin. Brown hair. What would he do if he made it back to the Capital only to find the Prince bloody and cold just as he had been in that damned nightmare which still hadn’t fully left his mind.  _Don’t you dare do anything fucking stupid to get yourself hurt! Listen to Ackerman! Don’t go getting yourself killed before I can make it back to help you!_

                There were hours of desperate riding still ahead of him. No matter how fast the beast below him ran it would never be fast enough.

 

                Ignoring the burning in his chest and legs Eren ran through the palace halls towards his room, nearly breaking the doors off of their hinges as he charged through them. Ripping open the closet and spilling his armor and sword out onto the floor with a resonant cacophony of thunderous metallic clangs.

 _Fuck!_ He ripped off his shirt, not caring that it tore along the right seam. _Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!_

                This was bad. Very bad. Levi and all of their remaining warriors were out to field, hours away and likely unaware that anything was happening at all.

                _Damn it! How could this happen!_ He forced the bracers onto his wrists. Swiftly tightened the straps on his armor with shaking hands. Ran a whetstone quickly over the edge of his longsword before chucking it into the depths of his closet.

                _They won’t get away with this! I won’t let them!_

                He was afraid. Before now he’d never been in a true battle. But he wasn’t about to back down and cow to the Adherents.

                _I’m going to put all of my training to use and make you proud, Levi!_ _Going to show you that I can fight just as well as you can and that I don’t always need to be protected._

                He slid his sword into his sheathe and strapped it to his back.

                _We’ll make them fear us. Together!_

                He got to his feet and moved to exit the room but had only made it a few steps into the hallway before being spotted.

                “Eren! There you are!” He turned at the shout to see his parents rushing towards him, his Father armed but not in armor and his mother looking close to panic. The royal advisor trailed not far behind them. “Where were you going? Why are you in armor?”

                “Why? Because I want to fight, Father! I don’t see why my royal blood should force me to hide in here like a coward when our people are being attacked!”

                “Baby, please. I know how you feel but you can’t just go rushing off to war against these monsters. Let Mikasa and her guard handle it.”

                “We’re Acies! The servants of Araon! We can’t cower to him just because the War God is no longer here to watch over us, Mother!”

                “Grisha, please! Stop him!”

                Eren’s teal eyes turned on his Father now as he shook off his mother’s attempts to grab a hold of him. “You always told me that we came from a line of fighters. That I was a warrior Prince! Don’t try and tell me that because I’m royal it’s not my place on the battle field Father because I know from Mikasa’s stories that you stood on the front line of fighting time and again when you were younger. And Levi is out there now! I refuse to disgrace him and his strength by allowing myself to be made weak in the eyes of our enemy!”

                “My Lord,” the advisor drawled seeming a bit too calm for his liking given the situation at hand, “Lady Carla is right. I must advise that the royal family remain together so as-.”

                “No.”

                “Darling, by the Gods! Don’t let him-!”

                “Carla, Eren isn’t a child anymore! No matter how much we may wish it wasn’t the case we can’t shelter him forever and now that war has come the time has come for him to prove himself capable of acting as a man.” His Father directed a stern gaze onto him and said “you are to remain with Mikasa at _all times_. Do you understand me, Eren?”

                “Yes, Father. I swear on the Gods and on our ancestors that I will drive these snake bastards out of the Capital and back towards Levi and his men. We’ll crush them between us!”

                Before his father could have the chance to change his mind Eren bolted from the castle and into the chaos outside.

                “Hold your positions, all of you! Regardless of what happens  the castle _cannot_ be allowed to fall!” Mikasa was shouting orders from horseback, the wind blowing her black hair and the all but vanished sun setting her grey eyes aflame. “The Acies Clan will not succumb to these heathens! The heart of the Empire and the Coordinate we guard cannot be allowed to fall into their hands. _Hold fast!”_

                A line of guards had formed at the head of the road leading up to the castle, shoulder to shoulder and with weapons drawn as they did their best to hold back the Adherents who were attempting to break through.

                “Mikasa!”

                “Prince?” she turned in his saddle, eyes wide and expression settling into one of shock. “What are you doing out here? It isn’t safe! Get back inside the castle at once and-!”

                “I am out here with my father’s blessing to prove myself in the crucible of combat and to fight for and beside my people!” His teal eyes met hers in an ardent refusal to be swayed. “I was told to remain with you and aid the guard however I can. What’s happening?”

                “I wish that I could tell you, Young Lord, I really do.” She admitted to him after a moment. “It happened so quickly. One moment all was well and the next their kind was hemorrhaging from everywhere. More than we ever could have imagined in our worst nightmares. It wasn’t even a matter of the guard being pushed back to the castle by our enemy. We never had the chance to leave it!”

                “So there are civilians still down there?” he yelped in shocked, gazing down at the madness and flame wake that had once been the Capital city. “And the Temples? A-Armin?”

                “We haven’t heard from him, Prince.  And thus far the only ones who have come up that road are foes.”

                “We need to get down there somehow and evacuate anyone who may still be alive. Save whoever we can.” Eren didn’t expect many to be left but they had to try. “Where are the others? Marco? Sasha? Jean?”

                “In the city, attempting to do just what you suggested.”              

                He looked at her in shock. “How did they get down?”    

                “They climbed, reckless fools that they are!”

                “Climbed?” the brunet repeated as he looked down sharply at the jagged cliff-face. “That’s a sheer 300 foot drop! There’s no way they got down without-.”

                “Jean is Equos, Prince.  They had an easier time getting down to solid ground than most though I would assume that it still wasn’t easy.” She said grimly. “Unfortunately we couldn’t follow without falling to our deaths.”

                “So the only way through is breaking their siege?” Mikasa nodded. “Then we know what we have to do.”

                “Prince don’t tell me that you intend-.”

                “I do.” Eren cut her off sharply, raising his hand to his lips. “its life or death and we can afford to hold nothing back in saving our people. The only way to survive this is to fight back!”

                A bright flash of light and heat and the familiar embrace of flesh as he was swathed in the muscle and skin of his much larger form. Smooth tan skin. Wild dark hair. Long sharp teeth. Eren released a mighty roar that shook the earth before charging forwards into the fray. Crushing under massive feet a few of the invaders who weren’t quick enough to react. Launching a few more into the air and off the side of the cliff with a swift kick. Concussive blasts of lightning ricocheted off the surrounding stone face in quick succession as some of the Adherents nearest him took their other forms as well but the only road up to the palace was treacherous and narrow and when too many attempted to jostle forwards and get to him the brittle edge crumbled away beneath them. Those who fell grabbed desperately at their nearby comrades, a few managing in this manner to arrest their fall but most simply dragging their companions into the abyss along with them.

                Mikasa retained her smaller form and rushed about his feet astride her horse, cutting down those who attempted to swarm his Titan like angered ants and continuing to back orders to those soldiers still within earshot.

“Archers! Fire! Hold the high ground!” A volley of arrows rained down from above them, most glancing off armor but a few finding their way into chinks of armor and sinking deep into unprotected flesh.

As much of an advantage that the treacherous road provided them with it could just as easily serve as a curse. Eren was left with little room to maneuver when an Adherent’s Titan lunged forwards and seized him around the waist. The force of the impact nearly knocking him backwards and onto the ground. Teeth and spines sank into his flesh, ripping a massive steaming wound down from ribs to hip before he managed to rip out its nape with his nails.

“Prince, you’re wounded!”

He answered her with a dismissive snarl and broke another attacker across his knee, throwing their body over the edge to shatter far below them.

They kept coming. The number of them almost unfathomable. Even after reaching the comparably open ground at the base of the cliff, cutting down so many of them in the process that their bodies and her mount were soaked in crimson and strips of dissolving flesh were caught between his teeth, the press of foes only thickened. An ocean of hostile bodies which raged around them. Thousands of frothing hounds baying for destruction.

“I see something to the North West of here! Signs of fighting!” He turned to look in the indicated direction and noticed the bodies lying strewn across the cobbled road. Yet more invaders scrabbling over the dissolving forms of their fellows. “Jean and the others must have come this way! It would be wise of us to meet up with them!”

He acknowledged this with a growl, swatting another attacker through a nearby building before plodding after her horse. Despite the far greater number of opponents to face and the lack of cover the fighting in the Capital city was far less brutal. With the Adherent’s focus seemingly on the castle most of those they did encounter simply rushed passed them like the surging tide. Paying little mind to their unlucky fellows who strayed a bit too close to Eren or his guard.

Perhaps ten minutes of wading through the press of bodies later the pair caught sight of a number of barricades which had been hastily constructed of twisted metal and charred wood. Jean and Marco both rushed out from behind them, weapons raised and bristling, at the sounds of approaching hooves and feet but quickly lowered them on realizing who they were.

“Prince! Guard Captain!” Jean’s expression was a mix of relief and shock at the sight of them. “But…how did you get passed them?”

“We didn’t get passed them.” Eren’s voice was almost sharp as he pulled his top half free of his Titan. “We punched _through_ them! Did you find any survivors?”

Marco nodded. “A few. Not many, and none unharmed, but it’s something.” He said sullenly. “Sasha and another member of the guard who accompanied us are with them. Trying to see to the wounded as best they can.”

“Where is Armin?”

The pair exchanged heavy glances. “I’m sorry, Prince. We don’t know anything in regards to the welfare or whereabouts of anyone at the Temples.” Marco said. “Which is a shame. We could really use his medical training now.”

“Those bastards have us pinned down here.” Jean told him. “Every time we try to move they come out of nowhere and it’s all that we can do to beat them off again.”

“Well, that changes now.” Mikasa’s grey gaze coldly observed their surroundings. “Sasha and the other guard will be more than enough to defend the survivors especially while we’ll be drawing their attention away.” The two of you are to accompany the Prince and I up to what is left of the Temples in an effort to locate Armin and any other survivors there might be.”

“Yes, Guard Captain!”

It couldn’t have been more than a minute after they had left the little alcove they’d holed themselves away in that, just as Jean said, the Adherents were on them. Popping out from behind burning wreckage. Rising up out of swirls of ashes and shadows. Eren unleashed another bellowing roar which scattered most of them and between the four of them they managed to free themselves from the bottle neck in good time.

“Quickly! Head for the Temples before they can regroup!”

Another brief grapple with their opponents met them on the road up to the Temples but by the time they made it to the summit the Adherents seemed for the most part to have lost interest in sacking the holy sight.

“By the Gods.”

The statues had been knocked clear off their pedestals, dented and warped and ripped into unrecognizable pieces which had then been scattered across the ground. The Temples themselves had been leveled, shards of colored glass and massive stones littering the place where they had once stood tall. But worse than the destroyed buildings and ruined idols were the bodies, their white robes stained red with blood.

Eren’s Titan hit the ground with a heavy thud and immediately began to smoke, the flesh quickly falling away from bone and vanishing into a silvery haze. “Armin!” He slipped as he landed wrong and nearly fell, managing to catch himself on all fours and keep going. It wasn’t possible that his friend could be amongst the corpses of the people that he knew. It wasn’t possible because he was too resourceful to be caught unaware by a raving pack of rabid mutts. Too smart not to hide where he wouldn’t be found while the Temple where he’d lived and served for decades was leveled so that he could survive to salvage what was left when all of it was over. “Armin!” He was alive, they just had to find him. To get him to come out.

Mikasa tried to grab him, to stop him from proceeding forwards into the blood and wreckage and spare him from what she knew he’d see but Eren ducked and darted out of reach. Toeing around statue bits. Scaling and vaulting off of massive boulder-sized bricks. Peering into the faces of the dead to make absolutely sure that his friend was not among them until his throat had nearly closed up with tears.

He rounded the still-semi standing Westernmost corner of the War God’s temple and instantly saw stars, stumbling backwards with a cry of alarm as whatever had struck him came down again for a second merciless strike. Through the haze of pain and tears he managed to make out the familiar silhouette as the wooden beam whizzed towards him again.

                This time he managed to grab it and wrestle it free of his hands, tossing it aside with a dry clattering sound. “Armin, stop! It’s me!”

                “P-Prince?”

                “Yes. Prince.” Eren repeated somewhat crossly. “By Araon, that really hurt! What did you hit me for anyway?”

                “I-I didn’t…I mean…” the little blonde lowered his improvised bludgeon and forced himself to relax. “I thought you were an Adherent. That maybe they’d realized that they hadn’t gotten all of us.”

                “Armin, you _are_ still alive!” Mikasa and the others had come up behind Eren, their grim expressions transforming into surprise and relief. “Thank the Gods! There are wounded survivors in need of immediate medical attention; we need to get you to them as soon as possible.”

                “I understand the gravity of the situation Mikasa, believe me. But I can’t just leave. Not yet.” Armin told her shakily. “At least one artifact needs to be salvaged from each of the Temples. In the absence of our Gods what little of their power remains must be kept close if we’re to survive this.”

                “You talk about it like we’re going to be forced to leave the city, Armin!” Eren tried to chuckle but the sound was choked and forced. “We’ll push them back and recover from this. All we have to do is hold them off until Levi and the warriors return and-.”

                He was cut off by the thunderous explosion which threw them to the ground. All five of them leapt back to their feet and whipped around to find the source only to look on in horror as half of the castle collapsed into a plume of violet fire and black smoke.

                “No!”

                “ _Prince! Come back!”_

                Eren ignored her shout, blinded by the after images of the flames which had been seared into his eyes and urged onwards by the surge of fear and hate which erupted through his veins at the sight of his ruined home. All thoughts of safety in numbers and of his Father’s orders fled him, replaced with an all-consuming desire to eradicate those responsible, to make them pay, and he pulled himself up onto Mikasa’s horse without a second thought towards the potential consequences.

                She ran after him, shouting for him to come back while simultaneously ordering Jean and the others to stay put but he ignored her. Flying down the road and through the city streets as fast as the mount beneath him would go. Careless of the bodies he trampled. Too focused on his own anger to spare a passing thought to his surroundings.

                If he had he might have noticed the sudden eerie quiet of the deserted streets.

                Eren tumbled free of his saddle upon reaching the summit of the cliff face on which the now ruined castle stood. Darting left and right to avoid stepping on the splayed forms of the slaughtered guard and bolting up the stairs.

                “Mom!” The interior of the once grand building hadn’t fared much better. Rubble, though in noticeably smaller chunks, littered the floor alongside more bodies. The walls were scarred from blades and flame. “Dad!” He ran from room to room. Busting down doors. Checking them floor to ceiling for even the barest hint of where they might have gone when it became clear that his family was not in the safe room. It wasn’t until he had worked his way to the throne room that he found them and immediately wished he hadn’t.

                Sound failed him. Even tears deserted him in the face of the shock. His mind couldn’t fully process what it was that he was seeing. No slain opponents. No fallen weapons. No signs of struggle. Just his parents, dead and lying together in a pool of blood on the tile floor at the foot of the throne. Slowly, Eren fell to his knees beside his Father. Pulled the Coordinate from his hands. Slipped it onto his own shaking finger for safe keeping in Levi’s absence.

                _What do I do now?_ It was all over. They’d been beaten. Why had this happened? How?

                Was Levi even still alive?

                The door creaked open behind him and footsteps entered the room at a leisurely pace. Their owner unbothered by the sight of carnage before him. “Prince Eren.” The royal advisor offered him a serpent’s smile, blood still dripping from the blade in his hands. “I was beginning to wonder when you would return.”


	20. In Noctem

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here we are at the end of the second part of the series. I'm going to start work on the planning for the last part as soon as I post this but it may or may not take a while for the first chapter of Shadow of Maria to be put up since I am in college now and I have a few tests coming up. Thanks so much to all of my readers; I never really expected this idea to get off the ground let alone be as well received as it has been.

It was to death and fire that Levi returned, mount run ragged and lathered with sweat. The beast was unable to keep straight as he rode it through the streets which had been strewn with rubble and corpses. First yawing sharply to one side and then the other before finally dropping dead midstride sending them both tumbling to the cobbled street and crushing him beneath its considerable weight Levi swore and struggled free, ignoring the pain of the broken bones which had already begun to snap back into the place and heaving himself upright. Continuing forwards on foot and at a run.

                The night drenched streets were deserted. Absolutely dead silent but for the crackling of dying flames and the soft popping hiss of liquefying  stone cooling in the open air. He saw no one, friend or foe, nor any sign of anyone but still didn’t dare to call out for fear he might attract unwanted attention.

                Find Eren. He had to find Eren. Fighting could come later if it came at all. All that mattered to him now was finding his brat. Knowing whether the Prince was still alive or he’d arrived too late.

                Something in the distance caught his eye and he sped his pace, pausing to examine them only once close enough to clearly make out their shape through the darkness. Barricades and hastily erected ones at that cobbled together from the sharper bits of wreckage that their creators had managed to get their hands on. The question was who had made them? Members of the guard or the Adherent invaders.

                Levi drew his sword as Himmel took flight from his shoulder and began edging cautiously forwards. Careful to keep forwards careful to keep every step as silent as possible. Using the darkness to his advantage so that he’d appear as no more than just another shadow to all but the keenest onlookers.

                Reaching the first barricade he flattened himself against it as best he could without impaling his body on any of the bristling spines and carefully peered around the edge. Lying quiet and pale in the darkness, motionless and covered in wounds, were what looked to him to be a handful of corpses. Crouched nearby attempting to deliver futile measures of first aid was “Blouse!”

                Sasha jumped a mile at his hoarse whisper, rounding on him and staring with wide eyes as if the very sight of him was something she couldn’t believe. “W-Warlord? Is that really-thank the Gods!”

                “No, thank the eagle.” Himmel had come to rest on the shattered remains of a rooftop and was watching their conversation as it took place. “Where’s Eren?”

                “The Adherents came out of nowhere, Sir. We were overrun in seconds. It was all we could do to hold the palace and Mikasa-.”

                “ _Where is my husband, Sasha!”_ stealth be damned. He practically screamed it at her in anxious anticipation, unable to contain himself any longer.

                Sasha jumped and looked at him as if he’d stabbed her with a hot poker. “They went up to the Temple about an hour ago, Sir. To look for Armin. None of them have come back.”

                “They?”

                “Prince Eren, the Guard Captain, Jean and Marco.”

                “They left you alone down here?”

                “Uh, no Sir. I was with another member of the guard but he-.”

                “Disappeared?” she nodded. “Forget about him then. You’re coming with me up to the Temples; we’re getting my brat and the others and getting somewhere safe!”

                “But Sir, if I leave too they’ll-.”

                “They’re already dead Blouse, believe me.” He growled, grey eyes fathomless and cold. “By now I know what a corpse looks like and I can tell at a glance that there’s nothing left that any of us can do for them. Now do I need to make accompanying me an order or-?”

                “No Sir. I’ll be right behind you.”

                “Keep up. I’m not going to slow down on your account.”

                Why were the streets empty? Why were there no foes lying in ambush to take them unaware? No one had arrived before him to chase them off. So where were they?

                A scene of carnage and destruction awaited them at the top of the cliff were the Temples had stood, Armin Jean and Marco carefully picking things over in search of anything that could be salvaged.

                “Arlert! Kirstein! Bodt!” All three looked up at him in utter shock. “Where is Ackerman and my brat?”

                “L-Levi?”

                “What are you doing back already?”

                “That isn’t important! Blouse said he was with you. _Where! Is! Eren!”_

                “After the explosion he bolted back to the palace and Mikasa ran after him.”

                “…Explosion?” dreading what he would see Levi slowly turned to face the opposite cliff where the castle stood. Half of the building had disappeared into a pile of smoking rubble. His entire body went cold. “Alright you little shits, drop whatever isn’t absolutely necessary to keep and get your little asses moving! We need to get the hell over there now!”

                None protested, falling in behind him and keeping pace as best they could as he bolted towards the castle. Ignoring the clang of armor and stone. The burning in his muscles. The rubbles and bodies strewn across the cliff and clogging the halls.

                “Eren!” No. No. No. This wasn’t happening. It couldn’t be happening. It wasn’t an exact replica of the nightmare but it was close enough to make it feel as if the walls were closing in on him as he tore open every door they passed.

                Dining hall.

                No.

                Safe room.

                No.

                Throne room.

                Blood coated the floor, the copper scent of it thick in the air. Three bodies-two at the foot of the thrones and the third near the door-lay splayed on the floor. The first two were Grisha and Carla both of whom were clearly dead and the third was “ _Ackerman!”_

                As the other four stood stunned and staring in the doorway he rushed to her side. Propping her upright with one hand and pressing the other to the deep slash down the front of her chest. Her grey eyes opened slowly, gaze bleary and pained as she peered up at him.

                “Levi.” Her voice was strained and barely audible. “Thank the Gods that you’ve returned.”

                “What happened? Where’s Eren?”

                “He betrayed us. It was him all along.” Her armor had been split open by the strength of the blow that she had taken and severe burns were slowly healing along her exposed skin. “That bastard. We trusted him. And all along he was their leader.”

                “Who?”

                “The Royal Advisor.”

                A rush of emotions flooded through him, but surprise was not amongst them. “He killed them?” she nodded. “And Eren? Mikasa, you need to tell me if he’s-.”

                “He isn’t. He’s alive, Levi, but he’s hurt badly. He took him away, I don’t know to where. The Prince had the Coordinate with him.” She forced painful words around her injury. “I followed the Prince after he rushed here. Caught them in the middle of a fight. But when I tried to intervene he cut me down in a single blow. The sword he has is bewitched.”      

                “Leamai.”

                She nodded.

                “I’ll get him back.”

                As he tried to lay her back down on the tile floor she caught him by the front of his chest plate. “Be careful. He’s strong. Even you will find defeating him a challenge.”

                “Don’t worry about me Ackerman. Concern yourself with healing.” Levi gently detached her grip and stood up. “Arlert, Blouse, take her out of the city and to the little forest where Eren likes to ride. See to her wounds and wait for us. Kirstein, Bodt go down into the treasury and fill bags with as much as you can carry. We’ll need it. Once you’ve done that I want you to go to the stables, take a horse for each of us, and report there too. I’ll join you once I’ve recovered my brat.”

                “Yes, Sir!”

                Jean and Marco vanished back down the hall, headed towards the treasury room. Armin and Sasha worked together to pull Mikasa to her feet and prop her upright between them. Satisfied that his orders would be followed he rushed out of the castle and back down the road.

                Still no Adherents. Levi didn’t know whether to be relieved or concerned.

                _Damn it all!_ He cast around for signs of his prey and their captive but found nothing. _Where the hell have you run off to you fuck?_

                Left.

                Nothing.

                Right.

                Nothing.

                Not even the barest trace to be seen of where they might have gone.

                A whistled squeak made him glance down at his feet. About a meter and a half away Himmel was sitting on the ground beside a fist-sized pile of blood. Floating in the middle of the little pool was a single petal belonging to an anemone.

                _Fuck you, bastard!_

                A trail of blood and petals led down the cobbled streets, pulling him along a set of alleys and backstreets which, even surrounded by destruction, were familiar.

                Himmel left him to fly up and over the lip of the coliseum’s walls to circle high above as Levi plunged into the dark entrance. Pounding through the tunnels. Tripping up the stairs and nearly dead legging himself on the benches as he came out into the stands. His grey eyes flew along the gentle curve of the stone structure and alighting on the gated in balcony. On the unconscious brunet slumped forwards in the chains that bound him to the chair.

                “ _Eren!”_ Levi ran the length of the stands that separated them, ignoring the pain that shot through his legs every time his shins and knees made contact with the cold and unforgiving stone. Rushed up the stairs and pitched over the grating not bothering in his desperation with the gate. “Brat! Damn it! Talk to me, please!”

                He was bound in chains, hunched forwards and unconscious. Tan skin paled slightly beneath the veil of scarlet which had spread from his wounds. Levi grabbed the chains and pulled. Clawing at them with all his strength. Cussing and spitting and tearing at it until his nails were broken and bloody but they refused to give way.

                Titan crystal.

                He grabbed the lock. Groping at it. Glaring at it. Willing it to click and release itself but it refused.

                _I have to find the key._ As the realization struck him Levi cast around at his feet. Searching for the key on the ground. Hoping against hope that it would simply be sitting there within easy reach. Gripping one of the hands resting limp against the armrest as he did so.

                Of course it wasn’t there.

                _Where? Where?_ Thin shafts of moonlight forced their way through the clouds to illuminate the stone benches which stood unoccupied. His grey eyes sought out any hints of glinting metal. Nothing. Nothing. Then. _There!_ But not where he’d expected it.

                A narrow stone pedestal, unnoticed before now, rose from the center of the arena’s floor. Resting atop it was the key.

                _A trap._

                The only way to get Eren free.

                Warily, Levi passed his eyes around the empty arena. Searching for any sign of movement or another’s presence but finding nothing.

                _Where are you, you spineless bag of wheezing dick tips?_ He left the balcony and descended along the rows of benches. Leaping over the wall and into the ring. Landing in a crouch and edging cautiously forwards towards the little column. Pausing every few moments to check over his surroundings again for anything that might have changed.

                He hesitated for a moment upon reaching it at last before his hand shot out to snatch it off its pedestal. The metal was cold and heavy resting in his palm as he stared at it in disbelief.

                “Too easy?” he spun around and came near face to face with the glowing golden eyes of the serpent who had long been entrenched amongst them. Expression set in haughty amusement as he stared down his beaked nose at him, blood encrusted blade held loosely in one hand. “You’d be right to think so. What you’re holding in your hand is nothing but nothing. An illusion. A ploy.”

                A snap of his fingers and the key burst into flames. Levi dropped it with a cry of alarm and leapt backwards. Would have toppled over the column had it actually existed and not been merely another trick of the mind.

                “The real key is right here, ‘Warlord’.” He drew the key from within the folds of his robes, allowing it to catch the light and flash tauntingly. “Or should I call you ‘God-King’ now that Grisha is dead you filthy mutt?”

                “What the hell did you think you could gain from this? You were Acies! How could you turn on the Clan that trusted you!”

                “The Acies are weak! And you never trusted me! You or that Caecus bitch. Filthy as your bloodline may be, Godling wall rat, you’re not a fool.”

                “What do you want with Eren?”

                “Not to kill him, despite what you may be thinking. He’s a sniveling little runt who is nothing like his great ancestors but he’ll do; only a member of the Royal Family can control the Coordinate.” He grinned at him, a brutal display of too-sharp teeth as the key vanished again. “He’s spirited but once I’ve presented him with your worthless carcass even he will break. He’ll pledge himself to Leamai and use the Coordinate in aiding our campaign to finally be rid of Humanity and your precious walls!”

                “If you think that you can kill me you’ve fucking lost your mind!” He snapped, eyes narrowed and blades raised.

                “Well then, Acies King, why don’t you prove your strength?” he left the shadows, weapon at his side as he moved into the light. “You were a gladiator before your rose to power. The Champion of the sacred Halgrind; a slight to the old ways in and of itself that a Human should be allowed to participate, let alone win. What say you to one last fight? I’m willing to give you an honorable death, even though it’s far from deserved!”

                If given any other choice there was no way that he’d agree to be pitted against him if he had any other choice. Not knowing full well that even with his strength it would be anything but an even fight. Vengeance paled in the face of survival.

                But he had to get the key in order to save Eren and consenting to the duel was the only way to do so.

                “Alright, I’ll fight with you. But since you were never a gladiator I think a more gentry battle is in order over the down and dirty combat of the ring.” Still keeping his gaze locked on his opponent he bent at the waist. “So first, as you know, we bow to each other.”

                “I will _never_ bow to a cur like you!”

                “Oh come now,” even he was aware of the simper that had come into his tone. “If it’s really going to be an ‘honorable’ death for anyone the niceties have to be observed.”

                It was more than a little satisfying when the man across from him, expression as if he’d been forced to drink straight vinegar, reluctantly arched his posture forwards into the poorest excuse for a bow that he had ever seen.

                When he straightened up again his eyes were ablaze with wounded pride. “Enough of this! I’ve suffered your existence for too long already half-breed!”

                The blade swung forward, strike powerful but path slow. It was clear that his aim was to bait him into a parry or a block but after seeing the results of Mikasa crossing swords with him he wasn’t about to touch that blade when left with any other choice. He darted to the side and fled into the shelter of the shadows of the walls.

                “Is the son of the War God so easily frightened away that a fight he can’t simply barrel blindly through and win is enough to send him running?” he jeered. “ _Come out of there!”_

Levi barely managed to avoid the fireball belched from the blade, tucking and rolling on landing to avoid injuring himself. Getting quickly to his feet and running again.

                “You can’t run forever; you’ll tire eventually!” Another loud boom as tongues of heat licked dangerously close along his back. “If you were smart you’d scurry out of this arena and back into the night with your tail between your legs! Would live a little longer! But you’re too loyal to leave the boy!”

                One second the way in front of him was clear and the next his opponent towered above him. The blade flashed. Unable to avoid it Levi acted on instinct and raised his own weapons to intercept the strike.

                The sound of his own scream and the shriek of stressing metal tore almost unrecognizably through his ears as fire flared into being across his skin. Lifting him off the ground and throwing him clear across the arena. His vision blurred as he struggled to get up again. Burns leaked clear fluid as they tried to heal themselves. Agony and the stench of roasted flesh were the only things of which he was immediately aware.

 _Fuck._ He’d been thrown clear through the wall. Bricks lay about him in scattered disarray, broken beneath his back. Metal piping rose above and around him, dripping clear fluid down onto his face at irregular intervals that tasted like salt. _Water? Salt water?_

                But what would that be doing so far from the ocean?

                _The expanse of blue before him shimmered innocently in the sun as he flailed and struggled through it, bulky armor and heavy blades not aiding his fight. Desperately making for one of the nearest tiny islands while all too aware of the other gladiator darting below him with the ease of a predatory fish._

                His mind clicked over. Gritting his teeth against the pain of his wounded body he forced himself up off the ground. Searching  near blindly through the dark. Fingers finding the release lever at last, near corroded into place. He yanked on it and it turned with a protesting shriek as water began rushing through the plumbing surrounding him.

                “What? Are you dead already?” footsteps scattered fallen stones. Levi managed to tuck himself into the shadows just before the other’s silhouette fell across the hole in the wall. “A real shame that, much like the Guard Captain who so foolishly rushed to the aid of the Prince she loves like a brother, all it took to break you was a single blow.” He cackled. Levi moved further into the dark, cautious to keep his movements silent. “ _Where are you?”_

Another flash of light and heat, the illumination falling just short of his feet as he forced himself deeper into the nest of piping.

                _No matter what he tried to do he just couldn’t keep the brat out. No matter what he said or did, even knowing he could read his body language loud and clear, the little shit refused to leave. Eren sat at the table. Levi sat on the edge of the bed. They stared at each other. And then the Prince spoke._

_“Honor is important to my people and even our gladiators fight with some vague semblance of it. But if you try and fight like one of my people then you are going to die, it doesn’t matter how strong you are. So I suggest,” he leaned forwards over the table, entrancing eyes catching the light of the fire which blazed in the little hearth behind him, “that you forget all about honor and fight like one of yours.”_

                The pipe was cold and wide and hard to grip from the condensation which had gathered along the night-chilled metal. His blunt nails scrapped across it a few times before he managed to grab it. Wrapping his arms around its frigid girth. Tugging down on it with his whole weight and all of the strength that he could muster. It clanged loudly and shuddered but otherwise didn’t move.

                _Fuck!_

                “Slithered into the pipes, have we? Get out here coward!”

                Levi lost his grip and fell but rose quickly and grabbed it again. Again the pipe refused to yield. Any hope of cutting it with his blades were dashed before they could form by the near claustrophobic press of the tiny space. Again, he fell.

                A golden eye became visible through the coil of steel and copper. “ _There_ you are!”

                _Break you fucking piece of shit!_ He was coming towards him now. Clambering over and under the pipes, slightly slowed by his larger size. Closer and closer until he could almost grab him. In a final desperate effort to break the pipe above him he heaved himself off the ground and used the torque from his dangling legs to twist himself around. With a great shrieking screech the pipe at last gave way letting loose a high pressure gout of frigid water. It slammed into the other man’s chest, knocking him backwards against the other pipes and sending the blade spinning away out of reach.

                _“Damn you!”_ Bellowed around coughs and splutters as he fumbled for his weapon, blinded by the darkness and the salty water.

                Levi ceased on the advantage and leapt into the deluge. Pinning the man underneath him on his front. Clawing at his nape and ignoring the curses and swearing, the efforts to buck him off and his own inability to breathe and when that achieved nothing he lunged forwards and bit down.  Tearing into flesh with his teeth.  Forcing himself not to gag on saltwater and blood. Not letting go until his opponent stopped moving.

                Red mixed with the water to form a pink froth. Salt water had pooled up to his chest and he surfaced briefly to gasp for air before diving back down. Flipping the corpse over and violently shaking out the folds of its clothing until he came up with the key. Clutching it in his teeth he swam through the filling halls and out into the drowning ring. Pulled himself over the side and into the stands again before rushing back to the balcony. Forcing the key into the lock with near enough force to break it. Ripping the coils free and flinging the chains into the rising water.

                “Eren!” Levi yanked him forwards, catching his body when he collapsed against him. He was warm. Breathing. Out cold completely, but alive. “I’m getting us both the hell out of here brat!”

                Hoisting Eren up into his arms he left the coliseum and made his way out of the quiet ruined city. Wary of every shadow despite seeing nothing. He paused briefly outside the little forest to scan the tree line for signs of threats or the arrival of the others and slipping into the gloom beneath the trees upon finding none of either.

                A quiet rustle proceeded the ash blonde’s appearance. “Himmel alerted us to your return, Sire.” He was King, now, of a fallen Empire. The knowledge struck home with a hollow finality as he adjusted Eren’s position in his arms. “We made camp nearby and await your word. Follow me.”

                Levi trailed Jean off the little path and into the trees supporting the brunet against him so that he wouldn’t catch on any of the branches or stones that they passed. The eagle fluttered from branch to branch overhead, observing its master’s progress.

                He was relieved to see that they’d had enough sense not to light a fire despite the cold. Marco and Sasha rose to their feet in salute on catching sight at him and Mikasa made an effort to stand as well only to be held firmly in place by Armin who was still in the process of evaluating her wounds.

                “You shouldn’t be moving yet, Ackerman.” He stooped down and gently lay Eren down beside where she had propped herself against a tree. “He’ll be fine and, though with the state of things it matters little, the traitor is dead.” He carefully straightened the brunet’s fingers and slipped off the Coordinate, sliding it into place on his own hand instead. “Now it’s time that we determined our next move.”

                “We stand behind you. Know that much.”           

                “Conserve your strength, we need you on your feet as soon as possible.” He straightened up. “You brought the gold?”

                “Half of the treasury; all that we could carry. Hundreds of thousands.”

                “Good. We’ll divide it equally between us and make use of what’s left over as incentive for aid. Even then it will prove more than enough.” He looked to Armin. “The relics?”

                “O-Oh, yes. We managed to salvage a few. Yra’s diadem. Uher’s hammer. And this.” From a leather satchel he pulled a carved ram’s horn. “A war horn crafted by the first King of the Empire said to grant the rage to all who hear it.”

                “Keep those close. We’ll be moving out of here as soon as Mikasa and Eren are able to walk.”

                “What are we going to do now?”

                “Fight them. But for that we’re going to need greater numbers. And for that we’ll need allies.”

                “And where do you expect to find those? The Acies have fallen, and the other Clans are sure to follow suit if they haven’t already! _We_ are all that’s left of the Empire: everyone else is either dead or Adherent!”

                “We’ll find allies by seeking outside aid.”

                “Outside-?” Jean repeated with a snort. “Forgive me, Sire, but from whom?”

                “Maria, Rose and Sina. I didn’t want to do this-I don’t like the thought of going back myself let alone of toting the lot of you brats with me-but they’ve left me with no choice.” The moonlight collected in his eyes to make them glow an intimidating silver. “Our only hope of survival lies with the Scouting Legion.”


End file.
